Who Are We Anyway?
by RWBYfan4life
Summary: The world has changed and Huntsmen and Huntresses are no longer needed. Join our favorite characters of RWBY on their journey to rediscover themselves and hopefully change the world for the better.
1. Prologue

Who Are We Anyway?

Prologue

The Beginning

**Note:** So here's my attempt to write another story for you guys after my last attempt. Unlike the last one, I hope you guys enjoy this one. This story has been in the works for a very long time and I'm starting to scratch the surface. Just a heads up, this is more of an introduction part so not a lot will be happening. However, if you're interested if this story will be good, I'd advise you to read this part, but you can skip it if you want.

20 years have passed and the world has changed. The creatures of Grimm have been pushed to the near brink of extinction. Humanity is now experiencing their greatest moment of peace. Cities are finally starting to rebuild themselves after the horrible years of war between the Huntsmen and the creatures of Grimm. Thankfully, the efforts of the Huntsmen eliminated all threats from the creatures of Grimm, leaving them to die in a reserved area called the Untouchable Land. Humanity has since then left them alone and they haven't tried to regain control of the planet. It seemed as though life couldn't be any better. However, because of what they were forced to do, Huntsmen and Huntresses who survived the war, have been shunned away from society. Huntsman and Huntresses are born with a special ability of high skilled combat attributes. As the war broiled down to its last days, Huntsman and Huntresses were forced to unleash their full power against the enemy to force them back and claim victory. However, their numbers were low so they called upon the efforts of humanity. They agreed to fight alongside them, but the collateral damage the Huntsmen and Huntresses caused forced humanity to take action. Humanity saw them as low life forms that contributed nothing to society and so they were left to rot away in remote areas around the world, with no rights; nothing. In the city of Vale, life is at its finest. Named the world capital during the war, it stands as a beacon of hope to all other cities. It also serves as the scum of human life to Huntsmen and Huntresses who remain. They stay out of the way and they try to live life as best they can, but humans are forever vigilant and will repent on what they did.

Ruby Rose, a once famous Huntress, lives with her sister Yang Xiao Long in the city of Vale. She has tried to live the way other humans want them to live by, but it's a constant struggle for her. She tries to find solace and hope in humanity, but is always disrupted by her sister. Yang Xiao Long, once considered to be the strongest Huntress alive, lives by her own standards. She disagrees with the way humanity lives their lives'. She's been known to cause problems with authoritative figures which has led to her numerous arrests for defiance. Ruby believes that her sister is doing the right thing, but is worried that she is growing further and further away from Yang as a person. Yang attempts to control herself in front of Ruby, but she of all people, went through the most during the war.

Weiss Schnee, a former Huntress, lives with her family in Vale. At least, all that remain of them. She abandoned the front lines of the war to protect her family when the creatures of Grimm breached their defenses. She is known as the Huntress who kept the beasts at bay. However, she's also known, in her family, as the one who let her father die. During the battle, she was forced to choose between stopping the beasts from entering the city any further and saving her father. To her family, she chose wrong and they constantly rant to her about how she didn't live up to their expectations.

Blake Belladonna, former Huntress, lives among the shadows in Vale. She contributed a lot to the war. She was the one who came up with the defense strategy to protect the city. However, the intelligent never receive enough praise and therefore, she was shunned, just like the rest of the Huntsmen and Huntresses. Now, she chooses to excommunicate with the people of Vale. She believes that they made the wrong decision to trust them. Inside, she knew that ordinary human beings couldn't be trusted. The skill and strength that Huntsmen and Huntresses acquired proved to be too much for humanity to accept and that's the sole reason why they are forced to rot like corpses. She, among the others, holds the greatest grudge against humanity.

Jaune Arc, the once-leader of army, continue to live a normal life among society. He constantly was seen as the light at the end of the tunnel. He made sure the humanity could put their faith in Huntsmen efforts, but when the war concluded, they lost a lot of respect for him. However, they still saw him as an important figure and allowed him to live as an average person. Unfortunately, those who survived the war see Jaune as a weakling; everyone, except for Pyrrha.

Pyrrha Nikos, second in command, saw the war as an opportunity to show humanity the reason why they live on this earth. In most cases, she was a warmonger which caused humanity to hate her all together. They casted her out before the war even ended. Her goals and ambitions were seen as imperialistic and a threat to the way of life for everyone else. She currently resides in Vale completely under the radar. She chooses to be a ghost because she believes that humanity has dug themselves into a hole that they will never be able to get out of.

Nora Valkyrie, a trustworthy soldier, currently acts as a different figure among the Huntsmen and Huntresses. She still believes that humanity can change. Every day, she goes out and tries to convince people that they did the best for humanity, but they ignore everything she has to say. Because the Huntsmen efforts are now seen as a sin, she is often beat up and ridiculed for her beliefs. No matter the consequences of her actions, she continues to shine light on the topic that Huntsmen and Huntresses are not a waste to this world.

Lie Ren, another strategist, is a quiet figure. He wasn't known for much during the war and he doesn't cause any disturbances to everyday life. Those who speak to him on a daily basis say that he is unaffected by this change. Not many people understand his rationale, but they know if something happens, he'll be one of the first to respond.

Sun Wukong, a rebel fighter, is a very mischievous character. He was never an official Huntsmen during the war, but contributed to the defeat of the creatures of Grimm. Now, he's rarely seen in the city, but when he is, he brings chaos. He, somehow, smuggles in creatures of Grimm into the city to prove that the Huntsmen efforts are still needed. The authorities have never been able to catch him, but he's now the most wanted person in Vale.

Life has definitely changed in the city of Vale and those who remain are now struggling with the one question that haunts everyone: Who are we anyway?

End of Prologue


	2. Chapter 1

Who Are We Anyway?

Chapter 1

Our Lives'

The streets were filling up and the crowds were joyous for the day was here. The first annual celebration of survival from the war. The city was alive for the first time in a long time. People were preparing for the day to come with balloons and food. Humanity was ready to celebrate their year of success. Speeches, parades, and memorials were all going to occur. The day couldn't seem to get any better. On the other hand, Huntsmen and Huntresses thought otherwise. Instead of joining up in the city, the decided to meet up at a cafe designated for Huntsmen and Huntresses. There, the usual group came together like they always do every day. Members of team RWBY and JNPR gathered together to help ease the burden that they are all experiencing.

"Alright, so before we move on with our usual, I just wanted to know if anyone had anything to say about the Big Question?" Ruby looked around the table, but no spoke up. No one even brought their eyes up from the table. This discouraged her. She sat down silently and they moved on to normal, everyday conversations. When Ruby sat down, Blake caught her attention.

"Did you want to say anything?"

"No, it's alright. I don't think it needs to be shared today." Ruby slumped into shame. Blake could only feel sorry for her. She notices that Ruby is trying to make the best out of nothing, but the people she shares her days with don't make it any easier.

"So how was your day yesterday Nora?" asked Pyrrha.

"Ah, it was the same. Went out for a bit and spoke."

"How'd that go?" asked Weiss

"It was not pretty. I'll say that, but I don't care. I just want people to know that we are still out there."

"At this point in life, do you think that's necessary anymore? It's been a year and not once have I seen a sign that humanity will change their views on us. They're stubborn and naive." Yang's hair started to glow and her eyes were changing color. Ruby put her hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down.

"Yang, this isn't the time or place for that."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. We all go through hard times these days. Hey, I got an idea. How about we share one thing we miss about the old world? I know it sounds depressing, but it's a good way to vent because I know that we don't get to do that a lot now. Weiss, what would you like to share?"

"My family. We were whole until the day of the attack. We used to be so close, but now that I'm living with them, it almost feels like I've grown further apart from them. It's a constant struggle I go through every day. Blake?"

"Not hated for being a Huntress. I used to think it was bad to be a faunus, but that way of life has followed me while being a Huntress. I kind of wish it was like how it used to be where humans hated faunus. Yang?"

"It's kind of similar to Blake's. Now, no matter who we are, we experience discrimination and hate. Back then, barely anyone had to go through things like that. I'm starting to have a lot more respect for you Blake because you were able to withstand the judgments from people against the faunus. I just don't have that tolerance level. Pyrrha?"

"Jaune. He used to be such a good, kind person. Unfortunately, the war changed him. I can no longer see him for that will ruin his image and I care about him too much to do that. He says he will speak up for us, but humanity won't listen to anything he has to say about us. Nora?"

"The simplicity of life in the old days. The concerns and problems back then had no comparison to what we're dealing with now. Ren?"

"I agree with Nora. Life nowadays has become too complex, even for ordinary people. I see it all the time. There is no confidence or free will in society anymore. They see us and can't help, but stare at our useless figure. There is definitely something going on that we're unaware of. Did you forget to share Ruby?"

"No, I wanted to hear what you guys had to say. For me, it was hope." She said nothing more. Just those words made everybody think deeply. Before the time of war, hope was such a big part of life. People put their trust in Huntsmen and Huntresses and they would return the favor with proof that they would bring a brighter future. That is no longer possible and everybody there knows it can't be altered. Now that she sees how everyone responded to her opinion, she kind of felt bad about going last, but in everyone's heads, they believe that it was best for her to go last.

Pyrrha interrupted the silence. "Thank you for that Ruby. I speak for everyone and say that that means a lot to us." Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Ruby slowly grew a smile. This led to everyone finally starting to enjoy themselves at the cafe.

A couple minutes later, the cafe owner came by to say a few words. He was an old, chubby fellow. The group came nearly every day so he kind of knew who they all were.

"Not to dampen the mood, but back in my day, Huntsmen and Huntresses were seen as idols. Everybody wanted to be like them and it actually put a lot of pressure on us. We couldn't screw up because people had such high expectations for us. Unfortunately, success doesn't last forever. People eventually started to treat us like normal people and we started to lose passion for thing we were born to do. So I speak from experience that the road is rough, but it's you can make it better." The group was shocked. They couldn't believe a guy that could speak so respectively to a bunch of Huntsmen and Huntresses

"Wait, you used the word, 'we,' as if you were one."

"Because I was. Don't you recognize me?" They all shook their heads. He smiled and pointed to the wall where a weapon was mounted. It was a Blunderbuss.

"Oh my God, you're..." He put his one finger against his lips and Weiss shut up. It was Professor Port. They were all surprised that he was still around. He was involved in the war, but they never saw him in action. They all assumed that he either died or fled the city after the result of the war. As he left the table, he remained the topic of choice. The group started to reminiscent about his lessons and class experiments. Among the professors at Beacon, he was definitely one of their favorites by far.

As the day lingered on, the conversations started to evaporate and the stares started to grow. Usually, this indicated that they were done for the day. They all stood up and thanked Port for having them. Like always, he insisted they come back the next day even though he knew they would. Before they decided to leave, they heard loud booming and screams from outside. They ran out and saw that the parade was happening at the same time as the chaos they heard from inside. People zoomed right by them so they had no idea what was happening. They looked around and didn't notice anything peculiar until Yang pointed down the street. It was a pack of Beowulfs running towards them. Yang prepared her gauntlets, but before she could charge, a strange girl appeared in front of them. They were caught off guard and simply stood by. She unveiled 12 swords that she manipulated and easily defeated the pack of beasts. From above, they spotted Sun on the roof. Just as the girl looked up to identify the perpetrator, he vanished. Ruby decided to speak up.

"Um, who are you?"

"My name is Penny. It appears that you're all Huntsmen and Huntresses. No need to fret, your services are no longer needed."

"What's that suppose to mean?" In that instant, her body started to become surrounded by light and then suddenly, she vanished into thin air. The group was speechless. They had no idea what had just happened. All they knew was that something was going down in the capital. When they tried to leave the area, they were cut off by loud boos and complaints from the people of Vale. They kept shouting to go away and that they don't want their kind here. The group did what they had to. They split off without another word spoken. When they left, the parade continued. Ruby decided to stick around and see what the fuss was all about. As she watched, she nearly became nauseous. They were floats of military police officers covered in flowers and everybody cheered at it. Then came the cars with pictures of some of the people who were lost. Ruby couldn't believe that people wanted to see things like this. As she grew tiresome of the parade, the final object caught her attention. It was a human figure made out of straw and it was dressed like a Huntsmen during the war. The crowds were silent and Ruby became attentive. Suddenly, a man with a torch walked up to the figure and burned it down. Her eyes lit up from the light of the huge fire. She turned her head in pain for she couldn't bear to watch anymore. The crowd cheered like savages and a voice broke through all of the noise.

"This is a symbol of what humanity went through. It shows the weakness and naivety of our nature. However, we have changed. Over the past year, we have become smarter and protected ourselves from this threat. We will never forget what they did to our way of life. This will be the day that will live in infamy forever." Ruby couldn't believe what she was hearing. She turned back around to see the man pointing at the burning figure. She put her head down in shame. They were right, she thought. Suddenly, the figure became a block of ice and Weiss placed herself on top of it.

"You're wrong. You assume that we are the ones who caused this time of hatred, but it was you. All of you. You brought it upon yourselves and now, nothing can change the path that you're set to walk down." She had nothing else to say. The crowd responded with harsh comments and began to throw things at her. She left before anything could reach her.

The parade manager stepped in to say that everything was going to return to normal and that he apologized for the interruption. The people of Vale were furious. They left the streets in anger. Before everyone dispersed, Ruby overheard a conversation that caught her attention.

"Gosh, something needs to be done about those Huntsmen kind."

"I know. They are such a nuisance. It's not enough that they have their rights taken away. They need to be shipped off to where every piece of shit should be: The Untouchable Land." Ruby started to grow angry. She clenched her fist and began to approach the two men, but was intercepted by Yang.

"I know I show things to you that you hat, but this doesn't mean you should follow my example. Come on, let's go home."

Ruby and Yang lived in a small house on the outskirts of the city. It included only a bathroom, kitchen, and a living room so the two shared a bed. As the night grew late, Ruby became more restless. Yang couldn't sleep either, but hid it more than Ruby.

"Rubes, what's wrong?"

She sighed. "I tell myself every day that things will change and that humanity will accept us, but today showed me that that will never happen. We truly are alone." Yang turned and hugged Ruby.

"Ruby, I know I seem pessimistic, but our group needs someone like you to bring up our spirits. Please try your best to stay strong and I'll try my best to support you."

"I'll try."

"Ruby, could you do me favor?"

"What?"

"Who are we anyway?"

"We're Huntresses. It's our duty to protect humanity against any threat we deem dangerous. We accept nothing in return which is the greatest gift." Yang closed her eyes and smiled. That little girl she knew from the first day of Beacon was still inside there. Yang needed to know that that part of Ruby still existed and she vowed to protect it all costs for the good of the humanity.

End of Chapter 1


	3. Chapter 2

Who Are We Anyway?

Chapter 2

The Pain of the Past

**Note:** Since I'm back, I'm going to try to get these out to you guys more often. Right now, I've been able to plan out every other day. I haven't come across a problem with this yet, but if something happens, don't worry, they'll come eventually. I hope you all are enjoying this.

"Go! Go!" The Huntsmen and Huntresses pushed forward the creature of Grimm were starting their final attack. A pack of ursa managed to breach their defensive wall and now, they were forced to take action. Their plan was to kill off the remaining ursi inside the city and push out until the beasts have no more room to recuperate. The front lines, the ones involved with the main attack, included Yang and Nora. As the plan proceeded, it appeared to go well, but news spread that only the Northern attack squad was making progress. Yang and Nora were leading that one and they were surprised that no one was else was able to push forward. Blake was the watch guard. She was responsible for calling out any strange patterns in the enemy attacks. For her, nothing seemed out of the ordinary except for the fact that the other 3 attack squads were meeting more resistance than the Northern squad. Ruby and Weiss were called over to be the final defenses in case they couldn't hold back the beasts.

When they arrived at the other defenses, the scenes were not pretty. People were in panic and no one seemed to know what they had to do. Thankfully, Ruby and Weiss took command and told everyone to stand their ground no matter what the results. Minutes went by when suddenly the creatures of Grimm broke through the Southern attack squad. Ruby readied her weapon for oncoming Boarbatusk attack. Out of nowhere, Ozpin knocked the beast off balance and killed it with his staff. Ruby was surprised. She had never seen Ozpin in action.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I totally had it."

"I bet you did." Suddenly, the stinger of Death Stalker pierced his chest and he was thrown across the square. Ruby cried out and fell to her knees. She couldn't attack. How could she? Weiss jumped in froze the beast in a block of ice. Then, with her Myternaster, the Death Stalker burst into flames.

"Ruby, fall back. We don't need you. We'll take it from here." Ruby ran to where Ozpin had been thrown. She laid his head on her knees as he grew weaker and weaker.

"Ruby, is that you?" he said weakly.

"Yes. I'm here. Don't worry, I'll find someone to help you." He put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't. Don't waste your energy. My time has come."

"Don't say that Professor. You're going to make it."

"Ruby, before I go, you need to know something."

"What?!" Tears started to fall from her eyes as he started to become faint.

"You must win."

"I will." His eyes became a blank stare and his hand fell from Ruby's shoulder. There was nothing more she could do. "Nnnnnoooooo!" Then suddenly, she woke up. She sat up as fast as she could causing Yang to wake up as well.

"Ruby, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I...I just had a bad dream."

"Was it the same one?"

"Yeah, I don't know why it's still in there."

"Well, things like war always stay in the minds of those who experience it. There's nothing we can do about it, except to learn from it. I know you want to hear a better answer, but that's all I got."

"It's fine. Thanks Yang."

"Hey, why don't you go out for a bit? I simple walk never hurt anybody."

"Alright."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, I'll be fine."

"Okay, well, you know where I'll be if you need anything." Ruby got ready and walked out. She didn't have a preconceived idea about where she would go or what she would see so she simply walked through the streets of Vale as normal as she could. She left her weapon at home as not avoid trouble with anybody. She always felt incomplete without Crescent Rose in her possession, but in times like this, her safety was more important than how she felt inside.

She honestly had no idea of what she would do so she eventually ended up at the city cemetery. She looked up the entrance sign which read: Dedicated to those we honor love throughout our lives. Cemeteries were never happy places, but the fact that she didn't see anyone she knew on those gravestones gave her a sense of hope. As she walked further into the cemetery, she came across a giant oak tree. She stopped in front of it and spotted a small flat rock lying at the base of tree. She had no idea what it was so she got close and noticed that it had an inscription on it. She knelt on the ground and read it out loud.

"To the beloved Professor Ozpin, you were the only one who saw the true potential in small self. I will never forget you. Ruby Rose." A tear fell from her face. She had forgotten that she did this for him. Ever since the end of the war, this cemetery prohibited the disposal of Huntsmen and Huntresses in the area. Now that her memory was returning, her tears started to become greater. It wasn't the fact that he had died, but it was that humans became so hateful of them that they couldn't even rest in peace together.

"What are you doing here?" Ruby recognized that voice. She wiped her tears from her face and turned around to see Weiss standing there.

"Me? I don't know. I just happened to show up here by chance. What about you? Why are you here?"

"I was visiting my dad. It was a year yesterday, you know?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. We all have to live with things we're not proud of."

"That's for sure."

"So why are you here?"

"It's because of this." Ruby pointed at the stone against the tree. Weiss came up close to read it. She remained quiet a little after she finished reading the message.

"So we lost him too?" Ruby nodded. She couldn't bring herself to say it out loud. She turned around again to face the tree and saw that a rose petal landed on the stone. Her head raised and looked up at the tree where she saw beams of light breaking through the leaves of the tree.

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you." Weiss put her hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Hey, you want to head back to the cafe?"

"Sure." Ruby got up and left the tree.

"So how's your dad?"

"He's good. He doesn't say much to me when I visit. I always try to believe he thought I did the right thing, but all this silence I receive is kind telling me that I was wrong."

"Don't think Weiss. You were responsible for protecting the city. You were the one who held the breaching beasts. No one else could have done it alone. You're fine." Ruby patted Weiss' shoulder which brought a small smile out of her. It was still a touchy topic for her, but Ruby made it really easy for her to always feel better.

The two finally made it back into the city and were immediately interrupted by commotion. Sun ran by them as he was being chased by the authorities. They were lead by Penny, the one they met the day before, and followed by two others that were in red and blue suits. They didn't catch their names for one of them knocked down Ruby and didn't stop for her. Stuff like that made them think something was definitely going on in the capital. They got to the cafe and were greeted by most of the group. Ruby noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Yang?"

"Ruby, sit down," Blake insisted.

"No, tell me where she is!"

"She was arrested, but Ruby..." She didn't stay any longer. She ran out as fast as she could and went to the police station. She slammed open the door and ran to the office window. "Where's my sister?!"

"Miss, if you could back up..."

"No, tell me where my sister is." The guy at the window looked back at some of the others and they had annoyed looks on their face.

"What's her name?"

"Yang Xiao Long." He checked the roster and found her name.

"She's here. Would you like to see her?"

"Yes." He buzzed open the door and she ran through. She ran to the first available table opening and waited for Yang. A few seconds later, she saw that the door open and Yang came through. Ruby stood up and banged on the glass.

"Hey, chill out little girl!" She turned to face the guy who yelled at her and gave him a dirty look. Yang made it to the chair in front of Ruby and picked up the phone.

"What the hell Yang? What did you tell me last night?"

She sighed, "I'm sorry Ruby..."

"No, I don't want your apology. I want to know what you said to me last night!"

"I said try your best to stay strong and I'll support you as best I can."

"Exactly, so why are you behind that glass?!" Yang was speechless. She knew that anything she wanted to say wasn't good enough for Ruby.

"I'm sorry." Ruby started to cry.

"Yang, I need you here...with me. Don't you see that?"

"I do...and I'm trying. It's just that this world is changing."

"You can't blame this on the world. You're supposed to be there for your sister."

"Ruby, please..."

"No, you can find your own way out of here." She stood up and stormed off. She said nothing else; not even a goodbye.

"You heard her sweetheart. Let's go." The guard pulled her out of her chair and Yang yelled out in despair.

"Ruby! Please forgive me!" Ruby made it out of the station right as she said that. Tears started to fall from her eyes. She walked around to the back of the building and began to grow angry. She toppled garbage cans and punched the walls as hard as she could. When her voice gave out and her fists lost their strength, she leaned against a wall and slid down onto her butt and cried. She couldn't believe what was happening. Everything seemed to be getting worse and she did not know why. Was this how she was suppose to live the rest of her life? She looked up to the sky and yelled,

"What do you want from me?!" Her voice echoed through the alley and finally dissipated.

"Ruby?" She looked down the street to see Blake walking towards her. "Is that you?" She didn't respond. Her intention were to be silent and hope that she would leave. "Ruby, just because I'm not a Huntress anymore, doesn't mean I can't see you in the dark."

"Hi Blake," she said quietly.

"Are you alright?"

"Mmm, not really."

"Why? What's up?"

"You don't know?"

"Know what?" 

"Yang's in jail."

"What? What happened?"

"I don't know. I'm just as clueless as you."

"How about I take you home? You can tell all about it on the way there." Blake brought up Ruby from the ground and walked her home. Ruby told her everything she knew which, unfortunately, wasn't a lot. They got to her house and Ruby thanked Blake for the escort. Blake walked back into the city and went to the cafe where everyone was waiting.

"So how'd it go?"

"Not well. Yang's arrest really took a beating on her. I don't think it was the best thing for me to fake all of this."

"Blake, she needs someone to be with her when Yang can't."

"I know, it just doesn't feel right trying to make her feel good when reality is right outside." Blake was interrupted by a message coming from her touchpad. It was from Ruby. "Sorry guys, but I have to go. We'll talk about this later." She ran to Ruby's house and knocked on the door. She waited, but no one answered. "Ruby, are you okay?!"

"I'm up here." Blake looked up and saw that Ruby was laying on the roof of the house. Blake teleported up to her and laid down next to her.

"What's up? I got your message and it kind of seemed desperate."

"No, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to talk to you. Look up. What do you see?"

"Um, the moon and a lot of stars. Why?"

"I see that there will be another day ahead of us."

"How?"

"The light from the moon actually comes from the sun right?"

"Of course."

"Well, as long as that light continues to shine us, I know there is hope somewhere out there."

"Ruby, I..." Ruby hugged Blake as tight as she could.

"I know what's going on here. You're trying to hide the fact that you don't know what happened to Yang just to make me feel better. Why?" Blake brought her off of her chest.

"I just want to see you happy. Nowadays, it's rare to see a smile like yours. I speak on behalf of your sister and everyone else that we just want to see the old Ruby again. We don't want to see you suffer. If you can see it, we're trying to bear all of the pain for you, but it keeps failing. I'm sorry Ruby. I know life is hard right now, but we need to continue believing in ourselves." Ruby teared up and slipped back into Blake's chest. For some reason, Blake felt vulnerable. She petted Ruby's hair and tried to hold back the tears.

"Blake, can you stay here for the night? It's weird not having Yang with me."

"Of course. I'll always be here for you."Ruby closed her eyes and fell asleep. Blake stayed by her side all night and stared at the moon.

End of Chapter 2


	4. Chapter 3

Who Are We Anyway?

Chapter 3

The Connections

**Note: **So I'm ahead of schedule so I decided to give you guys another chapter to keep you going. Also, I'm going to try something. I want to hear from you guys. If you have the time, message me your ideas, suggestions, speculations, anything. Because I think I have this whole story mapped out and since this is completely different than anything I have ever written, I want to see if this is tangible to me and you guys. No pressure if you don't want to, but anyway, enjoy!

Ruby was awoken by the morning sun, shining on her face. She had almost forgot that she slept on the roof and nearly fell off. As she rubbed her eyes, she looked around and noticed that Blake wasn't there. She grew saddened and climbed down to go inside. While she was getting ready, all she could think about was Yang. The day before, she was fueled by anger, but now, she's starting realize that Yang is trying. She just as an interesting way of showing it.

Meanwhile, Blake decided to visit the police station early. She sat down at the window until Yang came out. From the looks of her face, nothing she was going to hear was going to be good.

"Hey Yang."

"Hi Blake."

"How's it going?"

"Eh, they keep telling me that I'll be free to leave soon, but judging by their actions, it ain't gonna happen."

"I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do."

"Don't strain yourself. How's Ruby? Is she holding up?"

"Sort of. She's not digressing so I guess that's good news." Yang slunk back into her chair.

"Blake, you want to know why I'm behind this glass?"

"Why?"

"Because I went to the capital building to try and talk to the leaders."

"Yang. You know that's against our right's."

"You can't say that! We have rights. We've always had them, don't tell that it's against our right's. They...these so called people took them from us and I want them back."

"Yang. You can't use force in times like this. Worst case scenario, we'll lose you. Ruby will lose you."

"Please, just listen to me for a second. I went to building unarmed and had a diplomatic purpose. I was going to try and talk peacefully with the "leaders" of the city, but I met resistance before I could reach the door. I fought as hard as I could and kept yelling, 'Please listen to me. You can't hold us down forever!' but it was no use. The capital troops outnumbered me and I was dragged here. Never in my life have I felt more defeated." Yang looked at Blake who had a tear rolling down her cheek.

"So you are trying?"

"Of course. For Ruby's sake, for all of our sakes." She was definitely Ruby's sister. "Oh yeah, I should probably tell you one more thing."

"What?"

"I can actually leave here whenever I want."

"What?!" Blake kicked her chair out from underneath her and slammed on the window with her fist. "We need you out there...with us! Don't sit in there like a worthless human! If you're wallowing in your own self pity, then you haven't changed one bit!" A guard came behind Blake and grabbed her arms and started to guide her out.

"Please, bring Ruby here. It's the only way!" The visitor door slammed shut.

"Time's up sweetheart." The guard attempted to grab her arm, but she swatted his hand away.

"I know the drill." She stood up and looked at the door one more time before she went back to her cell.

...

Weiss was trying to enjoy with her family. No one spoke a word and Weiss made no attempt to make eye contact with anyone. Since the war concluded, her mother, sister and grandparents live at her house now. If there was anyone she was going to talk to, it was going to be her grandparents. A very long time ago, they were Huntsmen and Huntress together. They didn't really make a name for themselves, but the fact that Weiss had someone like her in her family eased the burden.

"So Weiss, how has your week been so far?"

"It's been quite boring, to be honest. I haven't done a lot lately. It's been difficult to."

"It wouldn't be if you weren't lazy." Weiss gave her sister a dirty look, but did not respond to her. Her remark was out of place and also, she never liked her sister anyway.

"How are your friends doing? You don't bring them over anymore?"

"Sorry grandma. They've all been busy with other things. Trust me, they'd love to come over."

"Bullshit," her sister said as she coughed. Weiss couldn't take it. She stood up with her fists clenched.

"Do you have something to say Emma because I would love to hear it?"

"Enough you two. Let's try and grow up. It's not our fault the world was thrown into a trashcan." Weiss' eyes shot open and it felt like a dagger went through her heart.

"You know, I can handle whatever Emma has to say, but something from you, mother, I expected more."

"So did I. You let us down. If you were a better Huntress, our family would still be together." Weiss grabbed her plate and chucked it across the room, causing it to shatter against a pillar.

"If dad was still here, he would be tearing us apart day by day. He was nothing, but a horrible man. All he cared about was money and Emma. He didn't even care about you." Her mom stood up.

"That's enough! I don't want to hear anymore from you."

"Well too bad. Why do you think he was never home? Why do you think he never called you when he was away? He was too busy throwing his money away with his favorite daughter. He didn't care about us at all. So if you think you're going to pin this all on me, you've got another thing coming!" She grabbed her chair and threw it out of her way. She walked to the door and stopped. She turned her head to say one last thing. "Grandma. Grandpa. I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be coming back here for awhile." She turned back around and left. She made it out of the front door and didn't look back. Unfortunately, there was nothing to look back to. No one was at the window and no tears were shed. Not even Weiss broke down. She couldn't live the way she wanted to anymore. For her, it was the best decision she could make for herself. But now, she had nowhere to go. She was thinking about asking the old man from the store for help, but remembered that he passed away before the war. She was alone...just like everyone else.

...

Knock. Knock. The door opened.

"Ah, if it isn't the great Jaune Arc. What can we do for you son?"

"I was wondering if I could discuss, with you gentleman, the plans I have devised for the future." The two men looked at each other in annoyance.

"Mr. Arc, we've gone through this already. There's no need to waste your time with these plans. You've already done enough for humanity." The man grabbed his papers and ripped them up. "Now, how about you try enjoy yourself? Find a girl, go to the spa something. Just don't come back here." Without another word, they slammed the door. Jaune brought his hands up to catch the remains of his papers, but it was no use. They were gone and would be forever. He walked away silently, but was immediately knocked to the ground.

"Hey!" The girl turned around.

"I'm sorry..."

"Pyrrha?"

"Jaune." She fell to the floor and hugged him. 

"What are you doing here?"

"I was trying to find you, and I did."

"I know it sounds bad, but you can't be seen with me."

"I know, it's just that we all miss you. I miss you." He brought them off the floor and kissed Pyrrha.

"I miss you too. I've been trying everything I can, but they won't listen to me."

"Jaune, don't you think it's time to join your people?"

"Pyrrha, you know I can't do that. I've invested so much into my life to make sure that we get the treatment we deserve. I'm tired of watching my brothers and sisters suffer because of what we did. Can't you see that I'm trying to right the wrong?"

"Who said we did something wrong?"

"They did! They're constantly saying how we brought pain and suffering to our way of life and I just can't live with it anymore. We can do better, I know we can."

"Do you really believe that?"

"Of course I do. Why are you acting so weird?" Pyrrha slowly distanced herself from Jaune.

"Why am I acting weird. Just look at yourself. What happened to you? The man I used to know could never do such a thing. He would stick up for who we are, not scapegoat the very way of life we tried to defend."

"Shut up Pyrrha. You have no idea what I go through; what I have to do."

"No. You have no idea what we go through. I'm sorry Jaune, but I don't know you anymore."

"Yeah, I don't know you either." Suddenly, a soldier in red appeared from behind Jaune.

"Excuse me, but is there a problem here Mr. Arc?"

"No, I was just telling this low life to get out of my sights."

"Very good Mr. Arc."

"Fuck you Jaune! I hate you! I wish we never would have met!" She ran off in tears.

"Would you like me to escort you home Mr. Arc?"

"No thank you, trooper. You're dismissed." The soldier left and Jaune walked over to where Pyrrha was standing. She had dropped something. He picked up the strange item and turned it over. It was his personal insignia from Beacon Academy. He carried it with him the entire walk home. Before he got to his house, he went to the lake that was near his house. He looked at the water that was reflecting the sun's light. He wiped a tear from his eye. It wasn't the brightness of the sun. It was Pyrrha's faith in him had weakened. He threw the insignia into the lake. "That's not who I am anymore. I'm here to change the world. We Huntsmen and Huntresses can't live like this for much longer." He walked to his house and slammed the door.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha was at the same lake Jaune was at, but at the other end. She watched him throw his insignia into the water. She watched the it hit the water. The impact caused the water to produce ripples. As she continued to stare at the water, the ripples faded into nothingness, just like her trust in Jaune. Who was that man, she thought?

...

"Please, let's all just take a moment and remember why we are all still here. None of you would be here without the help of the Huntsmen and Huntresses. They deserve more credit. Am I right?" Nora stayed optimistic, aside from the fact that people were throwing trash at her. "Don't any of you believe that we were all created for a purpose?"

"I do, and you were created for us to ridicule." He threw an empty coffee cup at her and laughed.

"Come on, you all can't be heartless. This is an important topic in today's society. We have to address this now. You can't avoid it forever." Suddenly, she was hit in the back by a peace officer and fell to the ground.

"Hey, I hear you're causing problems with the people of Vale."

"I wasn't. I was just stating my opinions."

"Well you're opinions suck." He kicked her in the gut and she cried out in pain.

"Why don't you just get the hell out of here? We don't need you here." Another officer poured water on her head. She started to reach for her weapon, but pulled her arm back before she could. She told herself that violence wasn't the answer. She brought her hand back to her stomach for it was still in pain.

"Hey guys, I don't think she's learned her lesson yet. How about one more good hit?" He brought out a nightstick and charged it up behind his head. Although she was in pain, she was able to see what was coming and closed her eyes. He started to swing the stick downwards, towards her body was caught mid-swing. It was Ren. Nora opened her eyes to see him standing in front of her with his bright green apparel.

"Now, this is obviously unfair. 5 guys against 1 girl." He kicked the guy with the nightstick and he went flying across the square. He brought his hands down where his weapons appeared out of nowhere. However, Nora grabbed his ankle and he looked down. She couldn't say much so she shook her head and he complied. He put his guns away and was tazered immediately after. He fel to the ground beside Nora.

"That'll teach you not to mess with us. Let's go guys." The 5 officers left the two on the ground in pain

I'm sorry Nora."

"No, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For speaking out. You told me not, but I did it anyway. How'd you know I was out here? Were you watching me?"

"Of course. I have to make sure that your safe."

"Aw Ren." She held his hand as tight as she could.

From up above, Sun saw the entire thing. He had his fists clenched and his weapon ready. He could only feel guilt though. He's the one who always causes trouble and he always sees that his brothers and sisters are forced to take the blame. I don't do this to attract attention to myself. I'm trying to prove a point that they need us around to protect them. It's just that times are changing and I don't think this method is going to work. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"You! Halt." He opened his eyes to see Penny chasing after him.

"Not you again." He put away his staff and ran off. Penny stopped running and took aim at him. She shot a small object at him and it stuck to his clothes. She brought her arm up and it opened up a small radar. After a couple of seconds went by, a light appeared and it flashed every 2 seconds. They little light was moving, but Penny didn't pursue it. She just closed her radar and smiled.

End of Chapter 3


	5. Chapter 4

Who Are We Anyway?

Chapter 4

Things Are Now in Motion

**Note: **Just a warning, this chapter is pretty intense. I would just like to say that you should be careful reading this part. I hope this doesn't stray you guys away from it. I hope you enjoy!

"Order in the court, please. Gentlemen, welcome to today's meeting. We'll be discussing the new laws that will be in effect. First, public defiance will be taken more seriously. Any form of rebellion will result in arrest. Any objections, say ay." The man looked around and no one spoke up. "Alright, next up, we have the Huntsmen civil rights act. This law states that the Huntsmen and Huntress can no longer be subjected to discrimination. They will be protected by the law and be able to return to the cities. Any objections, say ay."

"Ay." The men of the counsel were stunned that someone was rejecting this law. The man who rejected walked in from the hall with a top hat and cane.

"Excuse me, but who are you? You must realize that you don't have a say in this counsel."

"Oh, but I'm afraid I do."

"Guards, can you please remove this man from the premises?" The guards grabbed his arms and pulled him out.

"Well, it looks like you won't be able to protect yourselves from what's to come!" he yelled as he was being dragged out.

"Wait?! What do you mean we won't be able to protect ourselves?" The mysterious man shook off the guards and walked back into the room. "Who are you anyway?"

"I'm glad you asked. My name is Roman Torchwick and I am the leading scientist at the Agency of Recovery. Before I get into details about the future, let's review what has happened in the past shall we? During the time of war, we humans called upon the help of Huntsmen and Huntresses. This was our first mistake. To our eyes, it seemed like everything was going well. Then, they suffered the loss of many lives and called upon us to assist them and we did. This was our second mistake. We all know that we don't have the skills and equipment necessary to defeat the creatures of Grimm, yet we agreed so willingly. Why is that?" He paused for affect. "Because we are naive. We didn't know what was best at the time so we ventured into battle with no chance of survival. However, we were betrayed...by the Huntsmen and Huntresses themselves. They sent into the fray and stayed back to defend the city. Things got hairy and they activated their full power and wiped out everything that lived outside of the city. Now, to me, that doesn't sound like something I want to witness again. Would you agree?" The councilmen started to whisper to themselves. The leader spoke out.

"Well, Mr. Torchwick, it appears that you've gained our attention. What do you propose we do?"

"I propose we fight back with this." Penny walked into the room and everyone started to chuckle.

"Haha. You expect us to fight back with this girl. It seems that you are as crazy as you first appeared."

"This is where your wrong councilmen. She's a cyborg with the ability to hunt down Huntsmen and Huntresses. Her intelligence and fighting ability are unparalleled to any soldier you have in your army. I also have these." He pointed at two other robots in red and blue outfits. "These serve as her backup. Although these two cannot match her skill and intelligence, they still have the ability to track down any Huntsmen or Huntress in the area. "Now, right now, I have their levels turned down at conservative; meaning that they'll only attack when they determine the threat in action. Here's proof: Project Penny kill the president."

"Request denied. No threat in sight. Target is human." The councilmen were in awe. They couldn't believe something this sophisticated was actually working.

"Excuse me, but would you mind turning down the lights?" One of the guards turned off the lights and Roman directed their attention to the screen. "As of right now, Project Penny has marked a Huntsmen who has resisted human authority for the past year. On screen is a live feed of his movements. With these 3 on sight, they will bring him and he will be punished for his crimes. All I need is the permission from the council." Roman grew silent and took a bow. They were discussing about what would be best and he heard every single word. He couldn't help, but grow a smile on his face.

"Mr. Torchwick, we have discussed it and we'd like a demonstration first. If your robots can bring back this enemy, we will support your program 100%."

"Perfect, I have a camera on scene ready to go."

"Proceed."

"Thank you, councilmen." He turned and faced Penny. "Pursue and return."

"Acknowledged." Penny and the two robots stormed off in search of sun.

"Pardon the intrusion Mr. Torchwick, but how long will this process take."

"Ah, well, it all depends."

"Depends on what?"

"How much this thing is willing to comply with my machines." Penny ran through the streets at demanding speeds. She looked at her radar and the target was approaching. She knew she had the advantage this time. However, she decided to take an alternate route. She told the other two to continue the path. She broke off from the original path and disappeared. Sun was enjoying his afternoon tea when the two robots stopped behind him.

"Excuse me Mr. Wukong, but we're going to have to ask you to come with us." He took one last sip and turned slowly.

"Sorry guys, but I don't think that's going to happen." They reached for his arms, but he pulled out his staff before they could, hitting them across the square. He was ready. They stood up and began to shoot their machine guns at him. It was no use. After that failed, they pulled out swords and began their true attack. Swinging up and down, left to right, Sun dodged every single attack. Then suddenly, the two robots were on his sides and he back flipped to avoid their attack. He broke his staff into nun chucks and wrapped it around one of the robots. When he had complete control of him, he swung him to his other side and the two robots crashed into each other. Sun finished his back flip and surveyed the situation. They weren't moving. They weren't going to move. All the while, the council was watching.

"What the hell was that?"

"Patience, it's only just beginning." Suddenly, Penny jumped from a nearby roof and knocked Sun to the ground.

"You're good. However, I decided to take the time and analyze your fighting style and I've concluded that you will lose this fight."

"Well, computers are known to be buggy." He charged Penny and swung at her head. She ducked and a sword flew by, cutting his back. He grunted slightly from the pain, but moved on to his next attack. He got low and swiped at her feet, but she jumped out of the way. Another sword came flying at him and cut his side. He grasped the wound in pain.

"My turn." A sword flew right at him and he deflected it. This time, two headed for him, but one was able to slice by his calf. This brought him to his knees. Another two came at him, but he was unable to defend himself. One caught his cheek and another caught his neck, missing any vital points. This caused him to fall on his hands. When he looked up, he saw Penny in the air and by the time he could figure out what she was doing. Her foot made contact with his face and he was sent flying in the air and into a trashcan on the other side of the square. The other two robots came from behind her and ran over to taze him. Penny walked slowly to him. "Apparently, your kind isn't as strong as people believe you to be. Bring him."

The men in the council were astounded. They cheered and clapped and Roman simply wiped off the dust from his shoulder. It was too easy.

"Congratulations Roman, you're project is a success. You may proceed with your plans."

"Thank you councilmen for your time. I would like to ask for him. For research purposes, of course."

"Accepted. Well done." He tipped his hat to them and walked off with a huge grin on his face.

Meanwhile, the group was finishing up their daily meet and walked out of the cafe. As they did, they saw Penny with two troopers carrying something. Ruby butted in.

"Hey, what's that?"

"This doesn't concern you."

"If it's a citizen, it does concern me."

"Miss, back up now. This is your last chance." Ruby stood her ground and Penny did what she had to. She put her finger on Ruby's shoulder and she was pushed into the group by some unknown reason. As they walked off, Blake caught his blond hair and monkey tail.

"That's Sun. Sun!" She attempted to run after him, but was stopped by Pyrrha and Ren.

"Blake, don't. It's too late." She fell to her knees and started to cry. Nora came up next to her and comforted her. Ruby watched the three things walk off and gave them a dirty look. Before they vanished, she saw a man with a top hat greet them farewell.

"What the hell is going on around here?"

"I don't know," Weiss said quietly. The group stood there until Blake regained her composure and everyone finally calmed down.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Yang wants to see you."

"What?" Ruby was shocked. Why did she want to see me? "Why?"

"I don't know. It just seemed urgent. There's nothing more I can tell you." She sighed and left for the police station.

Meanwhile, Sun had regained consciousness and found himself on an operating table. He squirmed and flailed, but it proved to be worthless. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Roman walk in.

"No need to freak out. I'm just injecting you with a pain reliever so in a way, I'm kind of doing you favor." Sun spit in his face.

"Piss off."

"You know, you should be more considerate. I could of let my machines kill you, but I realized that you're of some value to my project. Now, just take a deep breath. This is only going to hurt a little bit." He used a laser to cut open Sun's chest. After that incision was made, he ripped open his chest to see. Sun shouted out in pain. "Come on son, we don't want the neighbors complaining about a disturbance. Do we?" Roman started to inspect his insides, but couldn't find anything. "What are you hiding?" Hours went by and he wasn't making any progress. He grew so angry that he pierced razor cutter into his heart. Sun screamed out in pain once again before he grew silent. Suddenly, a beam of light emerged from the wound Roman had created. He opened up the cut and pulled out a small crystal. Roman started to chuckle. "This is it."

As the day grew dark, Blake decided to take a walk around the city, but was interrupted by a loud banging sound. She walked over to where she heard the noise. When she got there, no one was around. She grew confused. She started to look around for hints. As she started to get noisy, she looked inside the dumpster and screamed out in fear. It was Sun.

End of Chapter 4


	6. Chapter 5

Who Are We Anyway?

Chapter 5

It's Now or Never

**Note:** I hope the last chapter wasn't too gruesome for you guys. Anyway, here comes another one and all I can say now, from here on out, is prepare yourself. Enjoy!

Blake ran around Vale all night. She was lost. She didn't know where to go. She couldn't go to the cafe. It was too early and no one would be there. Wait a second, Ruby's house. I'll go there, she thought. She ran as fast as she could to get to Ruby's house. She banged on the door and screamed for Ruby to open the door. Ruby opened the door slowly and with her pajamas still on.

"Blake, what's wrong with you? It's too early for this."

"Sun's dead. We need to get Yang now." Ruby woke up from that comment. She was going to ask how and why, but Yang was more important. She grabbed her clothes and ran out with Blake to the police station. They slammed open the door and ran to the warden's window.

"Release my sister right now. Yang Xiao Long."

"That's not up to my discretion at this point." Ruby grew furious. His dumb face and his careless tone drove her nuts.

"Yang, get your ass out of there right now!" The prison door buzzed and Yang emerged from her hell hole. Yang yawned.

"What's up Ruby?" Ruby grabbed her collar and slammed her against the wall.

"Shut up Yang. You need to come with us now!"

"Alright, chill. I'm already out, see?" Ruby roughly let go of her collar and left without another word. They ran to the cafe that was just opening. Some of the gang was wandering through the streets when they saw the 3 run into the cafe. They immediately followed.

"Hey, you guys are early today. Glad I woke up early."

"It's urgent."

"Hey Ruby, what's up? You usually don't here for another hour or so. It's good to see Yang with you again."

"Sit down guys. We need to talk." Everyone grabbed a chair a prepared for the conversation, which they knew was going to be very different than what they usually talk about.

...

Meanwhile at Roman's lab, he was still clueless about his discovery. His eyes were glued to the crystal he found inside Sun's heart. He's never seen anything like it. The door opened loudly and Penny, with her assistants, came through.

"Excuse me, how's your research coming along?" he was at his desk. His face was buried in his hands and the crystal was right below his face.

"I've hit a wall Penny."

"I don't comprehend." He turned slowly. His eyes were red, as if he hadn't slept for days.

"Do you know what this is?" Penny's eyes turned red and a sensor shot from them. Roman remained motionless as Penny completed her scan.

"Object is unknown sir. No information about this object has been stored into my databanks. My services won't be of any help in this situation." He sighed and turned back towards his desk.

"I don't think anyone will be of any help right now."

"Is that all sir?" He brought his head up from his desk once more. An idea popped up in his head. He totally forgot that he was on his own now. No one was going to stop him. He already had the approval of the council to continue his research.

"I need more of them now. Bring me that group of low-lives at once."

"Of course." Penny bowed to him and took off with her assistants. Roman was starting to feel better. He snickered to himself for he was planning something big.

...

"Wait, hold on a second. What do you mean they're hunting us?"

"I found Sun's body in the dumpster last night and his Aura wasn't there."

"What does that mean?"

"His chest was cut open and I couldn't see his Aura." Blake looked around the group and they were all confused. She sighed. "Huntsmen and Huntresses are born with an ability called Aura. This special aspect is found inside of our hearts and it takes the form of a crystal. Whoever killed him apparently took his Aura."

"So does that mean our hopes for a better future are gone?"

"I think so." Everybody sighed and bowed their heads. This was the day they were afraid of. The day humanity finally decides to act against the Huntsmen and Huntresses. They were just surprised that it had to come so quickly.

"Attention Huntsmen and Huntresses, we have the building surrounded. Please relinquish your arms and step outside at once!" Ruby turned to Yang.

"What do we do now?"

"I think I have an idea. Follow me." Yang led the group outside where Penny was waiting with her assistants.

"It appears you misunderstood my instructions. I asked you to give up your arms. Your group is becoming a threat to the people of Vale." Yang stepped out in front of the group and spoke out.

"I've seen you around and it appears that you're a smart piece of machinery. How about we do a bet?" Penny turned her head in confusion.

"I apologize for not understanding the language of humans."

"I'll put it simple. You put something on the line and I'll do the same. Whoever wins gets to take it all."

"Understood. Name the game."

"It'll be a duel. First to surrender under a finishing strike takes all."

"Your character has sparked my interest. What will you bet?"

"If I win, you will leave us alone. No more experiments, hot pursuits. We will no longer appear on your radar."

"And if you lose, everything will remain the same. However, I get to take you back to my master's lab." Ruby couldn't believe it.

"Yang! What are you doing?! You can't do this! Anything, but that!" she jumped into her arms and started to cry.

"I have to. This is the only way to bring peace to our way of life. Don't worry, I still got the moves." She turned to Penny and stuck out her hand. "Agreed."

"What is this motion?"

"It's a sign of agreement. We shake indicating that we'll live up to our word."

"Mmm." Penny stuck out her hand and shook Yang's. "Well, shall we begin?"

"Let's." Yang and Penny walked to opposite ends of the square, facing away from each other. Penny had a serious face. She wasn't going to let a mere human defeat her. Ever since her creation, her record has been perfect. Yang, on the other hand, psyched herself differently. She closed her eyes and took slow, deep breaths. She was finally getting to fight. After all these days of hiding, she can finally reveal her true self. She opened her eyes as she reached the end of the square and noticed that Ruby was trying to tell her something. It seemed that she mouthing the word, "twelve." Yang didn't know what this meant, but kept in memory. She stopped walking and took one more deep breath.

"Before we start, I couldn't help but analyze your motives and heart beat. It appears that you're not doing this to kill. You want to prove a point." Yang turned around and nodded to her. "Well, if that's the case, I shall do the same." Penny crouched into her battle stance and 12 swords appeared from behind her. Yang focused on Penny and noticed that she had 12 swords. That was what Ruby meant. She smiled and readied her gauntlets.

A small gust of wind brushed against their faces as the duel started. Penny made the first move by shooting one of her sword at Yang. Yang easily shot it out of the air and took one step towards her. Another one was shot and Yang dodged it while taking another step forward. Yang noticed Penny's eyes started to focus and decided it was time. She ran at her and Penny shot two more sword at her. One was shot close to the ground and the other flew a couple feet above it. Yang took evasive action. She hopped in the air and spun her body horizontally, avoiding the swords. When she landed, she punched and fired a shot, missing Penny's head by inches. Penny rolled out of the way. Yang fired two more shots at her and she leapt out of the way, avoiding the explosion of her guns. After she regained her ground, she threw two more swords at Yang. Yang slammed the ground, creating a wall of fire in front of her and the swords were incinerated.

"Six," Yang said under her breath.

Yang continued to run at Penny with full force. Swords constantly flew in her direction, but she managed to dodge every single one of them. The last sword had a different behavior. It flew at her, but with a spinning motion. Yang moved her body to the left and her left arm swung around to catch the sword in midair. Everyone was stunned. With the sword in hand, she threw it at Penny, who wasn't quick enough to dodge. The sword grazed by her neck and when she looked up, she saw Yang ready to finish the duel.

"That's 12." Her body was on a collision course with Penny's. the dust from the ground rose to the sky as Yang returned to Earth. When the dust dissipated, the crowds were shocked. Yang had Penny pinned up against a wall with her gauntlets pressed against her cheek. Yang had a little grin on her face as she said, "It appears I won." Penny started to chuckle.

"Oh the arrogance of the human kind. If you would be so kind as to check over your shoulder." Yang didn't understand. Why was she asking this of her? She turned around to see one of her swords pointed at the back of Yang's neck. Yang gasped and her eyes shot wide open. "Now, judging by your finishing move, you tried to count the number of weapons I had. Usually I carry 12 swords, but in your situation, I was forced to call upon my 13th sword. Also, while you were in the air, I analyzed your weapon and noticed that it was not loaded to fire. In this situation, I have the upper hand. The time it takes for you to cock your gun, my sword will already be through your neck. I win." The crowds went nuts. She had defeated another Huntress. Yang fell back onto her butt and was still processing the event. She couldn't believe she had lost. She had everything mapped out. Although her speed was better, Yang's strength would have easily subdued her. What went wrong? Ruby and the rest of the group ran to Yang who was still on the ground.

"Yang, are you okay?"

"I'm so sorry. I-I let you guys down."

"Don't think that. You fought valiently."

"But that's not enough Nora. Now, I'm their lab rat."

"I won't let them."

"Ruby..."

"Well, it's time to hold your end of the bargain. As expected, your coming with me."

"I don't think so. If you want my sister, you'll have to go through me." Blake came up from behind her.

"You'll have to go through all of us." Ruby looked back and everyone was ready to fight. Weapons were out and the faces of warriors could be seen on everyone's faces.

Penny sighed. "Well, this complicates things."

"No!" A familiar voice broke out from the crowd. "Take me. Let them go." It was Jaune.

"Ah, this is an interesting turn of events. You are a Huntsmen, yes." Penny scanned his body and it didn't lie. He was a Huntsmen.

"You can do whatever you want with me. Just let them live." Penny had to contemplate on this. This was getting interesting. Almost too interesting for her to handle.

"Alright. If what you say is true, my master will be more than happy to take you instead. However, through this change, I will make one myself. As of today, these Huntsmen and Huntresses are now enemies of the capital. This message will be sent to every city and every human on the planet. I banish them to the Untouchable Land where they may do as they please. Caught inside the cities and our punishment will be met with brute force. You have until nightfall to leave. Pray I never find you again." The other two machines grabbed Jaune by the arm and took him away. Pyrrha ran over to him.

"What are you doing?"

"I thought it over and you were right. Change happens out here, not in there. I'm sorry I doubted you."

"Step aside." One of the robots broke the two apart and pushed Pyrrha to the ground. The group ran over to Pyrrha and picked her up off the ground.

"Pyrrha, we need to go. It's not safe here anymore." She wiped the tears from her face as she took one more look at Jaune as he was dragged away.

The group gathered their things and headed out. The city gate opened up and they walked out with shame. As the last person made it out, the gate slammed shut and the guards locked it up. There was no return. Before they got out of reach, Weiss stopped to turn towards the city.

"You'll regret this! All of you! You'll soon realize the plague you've brought upon yourself!" From the wall, Roman heard every word and sipped his coffee. The city was his and there was no one to stop him.

The trip was long and perilous. It took three days for them to reach the Untouchable Land and when they got there, they were greeted by a menacing sign.

"Turn back for death is ahead." None of them have ever seen this place. There were no pictures, no records for them to reference to. They were flying blind. They set up camp by and rather large tree and relaxed.

"I know it sounds bad, but we all knew this day was coming."

"Come on Ren, you can't be serious? We all were hoping for the day humanity welcomes us back into society, not cast us out like animals."

"I'm sorry. I knew it'd be too soon."

"So what do we do now?"

"Stick together and stay alive. That's all we can do." Yang looked around the group and everyone had sad faces. All of them, except for Ruby. She had her head looking towards the tops of the trees. Where a ray of sunlight breached the branches of the trees and hit her on the face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Yang sat down and leaned back against a tree. In her head, she told herself,

"This can't be the end. It just can't."

End of Chapter 5


	7. Chapter 6

Who Are We Anyway?

Chapter 6

Exile

**Note:** Hey guys, I'm finally back. If you want up-to-date information about my stories, be sure to check out my profile every day. If you haven't already, I plan on giving you guys 3 more chapters before 6/24/14 because I will be incapacitated for a couple of days. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I'll try my best to keep you guys going before I return full-time. Enjoy!

The group made it through their first day of banishment alive. They spent of the day resting and trying to protect each other. Thankfully, they didn't meet enemy forces. As the new day set in, they decided to wander the area in search of a permanent shelter so they broke off into small teams: Ruby and Yang, Ren and Nora, and Weiss, Blake, and Pyrrha.

Ren and Nora explored an open area of the Untouchable Land. However, it was filled with packs of Beowolves that they didn't want to deal with. During their exploration, Ren was very quiet and didn't speak much to Nora. He was still depressed about their exile. Nora, on the other hand, looked for every possible moment to start a conversation, but whenever she looked at him, he had a face of solace. She decided to stay quiet and give him some space. The worst thing she could do was interrupt him while he was thinking. When they finished their scouting mission, they returned to camp, where they were the first to return.

Weiss, Blake, and Pyrrha ventured through heavy forest. They constantly were on guard because they knew that this wasn't safe territory. The creatures of Grimm have been living there for quite some time to where they have established a living environment. If the group attempted to intervene, it might bring unwanted resistance. The topic of choice among this group was the fight with Penny and Yang.

"So...what do you guys think happened during the fight?"

"I don't know. It's not like Yang to avoid hurdles like that. Any ideas Weiss?"

"Honestly, she was preoccupied. She was thinking about us, more than the fight. She let the future get in her sights and blind her from the mission at hand. She wasn't ready. None of us were. That's why it hit the hardest."

"Well, what about Penny? What do you think of her?"

"Now that, I stuck on. Blake? You got anything?"

"It was Roman."

"What? How do you know? He could be miles away from there by now."

"I saw him. And also, it just makes sense. He's hated the faunus ever since the rise of the White Fang. He fought against us in the battle of Beacon. And what's stopping him from finishing off all of us. It connects the dots. He brainwashed the councilmen into thinking that we were a threat."

"Where's this coming from Blake?

"I'm with Pyrrha. I can't believe that they decided so willingly to finish them off."

"Now willingly. Roman probably used force. He does have 3 operational machines to do his work for him."

"That's true." Weiss and Pyrrha looked at each other in confusion. More had been going down than they were ready for. They finished their scouting and returned to camp where Ren and Nora were waiting for them.

"So how'd it go with you two?"

"Nothing. This place is not meant for humans."

"It never was."

"So where's Ruby and Yang?"

"I don't know it's getting pretty late. I wonder where they are."

Deep inside the forest, Ruby and Yang were running from a King Taijitsu and a Death Stalker that were right on their tails. They took cover behind a giant tree, but only for a short time. They knew it wouldn't be long before their enemies destroyed everything. They took a second to catch their breath, but heard the creatures approaching. They looked up and decided the tree was their best form a cover. They climbed the tree as fast as they could, but when they looked down, the White King Taijitsu spotted them and started to approach them. It slithered up the tree trunk and they prepared for battle. Ruby began by shooting at its eyes. As it lost focus coming up, Yang jumped down to slow it down. She shot at its eyes once more and kicked its face, causing it to fall to the ground.

"Ruby, we can't stay here. We have to get back to the group."

"I know. I was thinking the same thing. Do you remember which way we came from?" 

"No!" The two looked around for any sign, but nothing came up. As time went by, the White Taijitsu regained consciousness and the other met up with it. They were running out of time. Ruby took one more span around the forest and saw a clearing in the distance.

"Yang, look! She took her eyes off of the enemies and saw the light coming from the end of the forest.

"That looks good. We just can't stay here. Let's move." They leapt off the tree and headed towards the clearing.

As they grew closer, the trees started to diminish in size which forced them closer to the ground. When they did, the Death Stalker picked up their trail and began to pursue them. They ran as fast as they could, but the Death Stalker narrowed its gap in between them. The forest began to grow thicker and thicker which slowed them down. Time was running low and the Death Stalker stuck out its pincers.

"Ruby, jump!" she aimed Crescent Rose backwards and shot out of the forest. When yang saw Ruby clear he forest, she cocked her gun and jumped into the air. She brought her body around to face the Death Stalker and fired everything she had. The shock of the explosion knocked her out and the next thing she knew, she was resting on Ruby's lap with nightfall approaching. She jumped up from Ruby's lap in surprise.

"What happened? Where are we?"

"We cleared the forest, thanks to you. However, the creatures of Grimm stopped pursuing right as we exited. It was weird." Yang looked back at the forest as light gradually fell to the ground.

"Yeah. That is weird."

"Yang. What's that?" Ruby pointed in the opposite direction and Yang turned to see a giant temple, resting against a mountain.

"What the hell?"

Meanwhile, back at the camp, the group heard a distant explosion. They looked around to see if there was any light, but there was nothing. They couldn't even make out which direction it came from.

"What was that?"

"It was Yang. I think they're in trouble. We need to find them."

"Are you sure about that? We still have no knowledge about this place."

"I agree with Nora. I think we should wait til morning." Blake looked at Ren in anger.

"Are you kidding me, guys? Would you leave me behind if you knew I was in trouble?" The group remained silent, but they all nodded their heads. "Alright, it's decided then. We are going to look for them." Blake turned around and saw the sun finally set. It was going to be a long night.

End of Chapter 6


	8. Chapter 7

Who Are We Anyway?

Chapter 7

The Discovery

**Note:** Here comes another one. Be sure to check my profile everyday for daily updates on uploads and future projects. Just a heads up, there won't be any updates on this story for a couple of days. I hope you enjoy!

As night fell, light ceased to exist. It was impossible to see further than a couple of feet inside the forest. The group had troubles finding their way out. Now, they had to change their game plan. The night did not belong to them, the creatures of Grimm now had control. They creeped through the forest as quietly as they could, but everywhere they turned, packs of Beowolves and Ursas. They wandered aimlessly through the forest, hoping that they would escape unharmed.

"So does anybody have any ideas?"

"How about we get a better view from up top?" They agreed and proceeded to climb the first tree in range. Blake was the first to reach the top and used her faunus vision to scout the area. She panned a 360 view, but couldn't see any clearing or any sign of Ruby and Yang. Pyrrha made it up next to her and asked if she saw anything, but there was no good news. "I know I shouldn't ask this, but do you guys see anything?"

"No, I was hoping you'd be able to see everything for us."

"My vision can only see so far, Weiss."

"I know. I just want us reunite. I don't know how long we can last in a place where we don't belong." Suddenly, a loud branch cracked and fell to the ground. Weiss, Blake, and Pyrrha looked down to see that it was Nora causing the ruckus. After the tree branch crashed into the ground, a bunch of red lights lit up around them. The sounds of roars and howling told them that they were running low on time. Blake pointed in one direction and the group headed off.

They tried to stay as high as they could, but the Beowolves were causing them to take evasive action. Blake took the lead and kept their path clear. Weiss and Nora guarded the middle of the group, making sure the group wasn't separated. Ren and Pyrrha took to the rear. As time passed, more and more Beowolves arrived on scene and their efforts started to wane. They knew they had to do something because the more they continued forward, the more it seemed like there was no end in sight. Blake was desperately looking around for something that looked safe. She turned her head and saw a beam of light coming from the other side of the forest. She redirected her body and aimed for the light. The rest of the group saw her change and followed right behind. Blake began to see a clearing come up ahead and greatened her speed.

"Blake, we need to hurry up!" she turned around and saw that the Beowolves were gaining. Ren and Pyrrha were starting to fall behind

"You guys need to catch up!" Nora turned her hammer into a grenade launcher and shot it at the Beowolves. Ren and Pyrrha saw the shot and jumped out of the way. Weiss provided more cover and shot fireballs in the same direction. Her attack started to surround Nora's and eventually combined with it. The reaction of the two shots created a huge explosion and sent a wave of energy flying towards the group. When it reached them, their bodies were sent flying into the air and they flew out of the forest and into the clearing. The impact of the explosion caused them to knockout right as they hit the ground, but when they regained consciousness, they saw Ruby and Yang staring at them.

"Uh, where are we?" Blake rubbed her eyes.

"I'd love to answer your question, but we have no idea what this place is."

"Huh?" Weiss was confused. This was a place? She looked behind Ruby and Yang and saw a huge temple resting against a mountain. "What is that?"

"We don't know. We were planning on waiting for you guys to show up before we did anything. I hope we didn't worry you guys." Weiss' eyes shot wide open.

"Of course you worried us! We risked our lives' trying to find you and what do we find? You sitting here, peacefully, waiting for us! What the hell?!" Weiss shoved Ruby to the ground, but immediately fell to the ground and hugged her. "I'm just glad you're safe. I don't know what we would do if you guys were lost." Ruby pulled away from Weiss.

"I'm fine Weiss. Don't worry about me." She stared into Ruby's eyes, but suddenly jolted away. She blushed and turned away.

"Alright, so what are we going to do about this place?"

"Well, Ruby and I noticed that there's something special about this place. While we were running from the creatures of Grimm, they ceased their attack on the break of the forest. I think it'll be safer if we stay here."

"Should we go inside? Although they aren't attacking us now, it's not safe to be out in the open like this."

"Yeah, I have to agree with Ren. Might as well check and see if this whole area is safe."

"Alright. If you guys are set, let's get this show on the road." They all stood up and readied their weapons. When they approached the walkway into the temple, pillars with torches placed on top of them began to light up as they passed by. The light brightened up the area and they saw huge statues of what looked to be Huntsmen and Huntresses of the days of old. Unknown to the group, a mysterious man was watching from behind the statues as they entered the temple. He quickly disappeared as the last member of the group stepped through the entryway.

The temple was strange. Torches were mounted on the wall, but didn't light up like the ones from outside. Weiss used her Myternaster to light up the torches. As the hallway came to a end, they entered a grand room that lit up on its own. All across the walls were paintings of Huntsmen and Huntresses being idolized by humanity and slaying the creatures of Grimm. The group was captivated by the immense design of the room. Pyrrha finally broke the silence.

"Wow, it's amazing see to the world the way it should be."

"Yeah, it's almost painful to look at these images." As the group began to soak in the history of their culture, Ruby began to tear up. Everything she was hoping for and fighting for was in that room. Yang looked over at Ruby who was beginning to cry.

"Hey Ruby, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just miss the way life used to be." During the entire time they entered the room, Weiss was contemplating their situation. Her mind was too busy to enjoy the sights of their lost dream.

"Don't you think it's weird that we found a place like this?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? There's got to be some reason we happened to find this place. You don't think it's a coincidence that we come across a shrine for Huntsmen and Huntresses right after our exile. Whatever's in motion now, obviously wanted us to find this place. Why, is the question." Weiss' remark sparked commotion amongst the group. They were torn. Part of them believed Weiss. Part of them believed there was no correlation to their situation.

"Hey Ruby, isn't this your mom?" Nora pointed at a statue inside the room and Ruby walked towards it.

"Oh my God, it is." The more they saw, the more they began to question what that place really was.

"What are my grandparents doing in here?" Weiss was staring at more statues that resembled her grandparents.

"Why wouldn't they be? They were Huntsmen and Huntresses right?"

"Yeah, but they didn't really do anything."

"Well, that was a long time ago. This place could hold information that we aren't aware of. It could even hold the key as to why humanity hates us." Suddenly, the mysterious man fell from the ceiling and put his sword around Blake's neck. The group turned around and aimed at the strange man.

"Let her go, and we won't hurt you." The man chuckled.

"What you search; it's not here. Trust me."

"And why should we believe you? You're threatening one of our own." He pushed Blake towards the group and dropped his sword. They couldn't make out who he was for his body was remaining in the shadows.

"Who are you?"

"A remnant of a time long passed."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"I'm a Huntsmen, just like you guys. I have simply stayed away from society and performed my duties as they were once asked of me. Why are you here?" The group was hesitant to answer.

"Times have changed. Humanity no longer needs us anymore."

"Hmm, I see that it finally happened. I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. The idiocacy of humanity couldn't be trusted."

"You still haven't answered our question: Who are you?" he stepped out from the shadows and revealed himself. He had a mask over his face and Blake gasped in shock. It was Adam.

End of Chapter 7


	9. Chapter 8

Who Are We Anyway?

Chapter 8

Our Place to Stay

**Note:** I apologize for the horrible update. Here it is. This story is boiling down and I have a new story coming up so be sure to check my profile for daily updates.

"Adam? How?"

"Once the White Fang was killed off, I sought out solace from a cruel world. Evidently, that's what you all are doing here. Although the answers you seek can't be found here, it's perfect. Take a tour around the place." The group slowly started to disarm and leave the room to discover what was so special about that place.

Ruby's Tour

Ruby took the hallway on the right and entered the first room she came across. The temple continued to surprise her for when she stepped through the doorway, the room lit up. Immediately, Ruby was astounded. Inside the room were hundreds of statues of past Huntsmen and Huntresses. She came across the first Huntsmen ever. She read the inscription.

Huntmen Everett Aura,

Our greatest savior and leader. He was the man who discovered the true power within Huntsmen and Huntresses. His most important words were that we should know the true balance of our abilities.

Ruby finished reading the inscription and looked up. This was the man who she was inspired by. This was exactly how she wanted to live her life as a Huntress. She closed her eyes and moved onto the next statue.

Huntress Emily Semble,

The world's first female Huntress. She introduced to the world that everybody has power, they just have to found it within themselves to release such power, under their own conviction.

Ruby was continually being surprised. Everything she was and everything she wanted to be was here. All of her questions were being answered as she passed through these people of old. She read more and more and started to cry. It brought pain to her heart that the world has changed this much, but it brought joy to her mind that these people never backed down. As she came to the last person, the name popped up in her head.

Huntress Sapphire Rose,

Considered one of the strongest Huntresses in the world. Her mental and physical strength surpassed anyone else and everyone was willing to follow her footsteps. She was also known for making humanity believe in Huntsmen efforts again following the First Conflict.

Ruby fell to her knees and a tear dropped from her cheek. It was her mom. Everything she had just read was all new to her. As her mother started to take off in her Huntress career, she grew further apart from Ruby and never had time to talk with her. She was sad that her mother was never able to tell her these things, but rejuvenated by those words that were left for her. She got up from the ground and looked back at what she just went through. The history of Huntsmen and Huntresses that she never even knew was in her grasp. When she looked back at all of the statues, she had the thought that this was the place for her.

Weiss' Tour

She wandered through the halls and looked around for something that caught her attention. A room ahead of her on her right was already lit so she decided to take a look. She walked through the entryway and noticed something peculiar about that room. Everything inside of it had something to do with her family. She was speechless.

"It's weird, isn't it? Seeing all of this?" Weiss turned her head to see Adam inside, organizing some things.

"Yeah, it doesn't make sense. Why is there a room that has nothing but Schnee stuff in it?"

"Well, believe it or not, you're family has been a big part of the Huntsmen efforts."

"How is that possible? Only my grandparents were Huntsmen and they didn't even do much to make a difference."

"Although that it true, they were involved with the First Conflict. During that time, Huntsmen and Huntresses turned rebellious and humanity grew scared of what we were capable of. They were among the few who revolted against the old efforts. They told everyone that we were only here for desperate situations and that wasn't one of them." While Adam was explaining their history to her, she was scanning through the room for other information she was unaware of.

"Even if that's true, why are my mom and dad found in these books?"

"They were responsible for the First Conflict. They got a hold on information that was restricted to Huntsmen and Huntresses only. They used that information to blackmail and nearly cause war. I know it's hard to hear, but the Huntsmen efforts have always had a target painted on your family. Now, that you're here, you can find out for yourself." He backed up and introduced her to a wall of books. "This is all you need to know." Weiss walked towards the wall and stared without a word. Adam left her alone and wasn't seen for the rest of the day.

Blake and Pyrrha's Tour

The two girls ventured into a room that was very open. The room had a giant table in the middle of the room with four walls covered in books.

"What is this place?"

"I don't know. It kind of seems like a meeting room." They started to wander around the room to try and get familiar with where they were. Pyrrha walked over to the table and noticed that it was a map of the world. It showed the main groups whereabouts of the Huntsmen and Huntresses and the Grimm strongholds. "Hey, come and look at this Blake." Blake was looking at the wall of books when Pyrrha called her over.

"Is this a battle plan?"

"Yeah. I think it was our battle plan."

"How is that possible? We discussed everything at Vale. After that, we sent out the information to the other kingdoms. I'm pretty sure that this place wasn't a sight of activity."

"Well, it could have been. This place doesn't seem completely abandoned. Maybe that guy was overseeing our plans."

"But why?"

"I don't know the answer to that. All he said to us was that he gave up. So why is all of this information so current?" The two moved over to the wall of books and tried to clear up any of their questions. Blake pulled out a book about new Grimm information that cracked the secret of how they reproduce and where they run for cover. Pyrrha got a hold of a book that focused on the weak points of each kingdom capital. More books were skimmed through and it didn't make it any better for the two.

"What if he was planning on joining the war?"

"Huh? What are you saying Blake?"

"I'm kind of summing up everything in this room and it just seems like he was preparing. Why else would this place have information that I didn't even know about?"

"I guess that makes sense. But if he was planning on helping us, why didn't he just come?"

"That's what this room was for. Everything in here was suppose to help him help us. If we could have known about this information during the war, the result wouldn't have ended the way it did and humanity wouldn't be so against us." Pyrrha was put to her thoughts. Blake's ideas never proved to be wrong for Pyrrha, but none of this was connecting for her. Why is this place about the war? How did this information get here? Why does place even exist? Blake looked back at Pyrrha who was looking more troubled than ever. "Hey, about we step outside and get some air? It's getting kind of stuffy in here."

"Alright." Pyrrha gladly walked out first. Blake followed behind her slowly. She stopped at the doorway and blew out a torch near the entrance. Immediately, all of the other torches in the room went out.

Nora and Ren's Tour

These two decided to walk out of the temple and enjoy the scenery. As they stayed outside, they noticed that the number of creatures waiting among the forest was steadily increasing and the weather was starting to change.

"Hey Nora, do you notice anything weird about this place?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why is this place even here? Like what are the chances that we would find a place like this that houses Huntsmen and Huntresses?"

"Now that you mention it, it does seem odd." Suddenly, the forest started to make noises. The two brought their attention to the edge of the clearing and saw that the creatures of Grimm were starting to approach the temple.

"Nora?"

"I know." She looked over at Ren who already had his weapons out. She pulled out Magnhild from her back and readied herself. "What should we do?"

"Hey what's happening?" Blake and Pyrrha ran up from behind them.

"We don't know. All of a sudden those things started to leave the forest."

"Well, it looks like our vacation time is over." Blake and Pyrrha pulled out their weapons and prepared for battle. The front line of beasts approached the walkway of statues when they stopped in their tracks. When they stopped, the creatures looked up and appeared to have a blue glow on their faces. The four looked behind them and saw a beacon of light shooting up towards the sky. It came from the top of the temple. The beam lasted for a couple for seconds and dissipated into the nothingness. When that spectacle ended, they turned back around to face their enemy. However, they were gone.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. They just disappeared."

"Wait, who is missing?"

"Ruby, Weiss, and Yang." The group looked at each other and ran back inside. When they reached the main hall, the saw Ruby and Weiss waiting for them.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

"What's up? You don't know what just happened?"

"No?"

"Wait, where's Yang?"

"She hasn't come back yet." From the distance, they heard a loud banging noise and ran towards the sound.

"Yang! Yang!"

End of Chapter 8


	10. Chapter 9

Who Are We Anyway?

Chapter 9

The Truth

**Note:** I have to say something about this chapter. I strongly urge you guys to really activate your imaginations. For me, it was easy up until a certain point. After that, I literally pulled out a piece of paper and drew out my ideas. I hope you guys don't have trouble like I did. Hope you enjoy!

Yang walked down a very dark hallway and entered a bizarre room. As she entered, the torches around the room lit up. She inspected the square room and saw that the floor was made 25 1x1ft stone blocks on the ground, walls and roof. On the other side of the room, there was a crystal floating above a pedestal. She didn't know what is was, but wanted to know. She took one step forward and her foot landed on the first center block. Immediately, the block fell from under her feet and she backed up in shock. When she regained herself, she re-inspected the room and knew what she was getting into. This was a game.

With the block in front of her gone, she decided to go a different path. She stepped on the one immediately to the right of it, but was caught off guard again. The stone started to rise to the ceiling and when Yang looked up, the stone directly above it started to fall towards the floor. Staying on her toes, she jumped two spaces to the left and landed safely on the block. No surprises, nothing jumped out at her. At this point, she knew she had to be strategic, but what could she do? This room required one to use a trial-and-error method. She couldn't afford to make a lot of mistakes that this room was intending her to make. After taking a moment, she jumped to the block diagonally left of where she was. A noise came from the other side of the room and a block from the right side of the room started to fly in her direction. She shot it out of the air, but was soon knocked off balance. Looking at the right side wall, she saw the blocks in front of her were gradually starting to fall. She jumped to her left and landed on another safe block. At this point, she is on the left-most block in the middle row and blocks.

The crystal was getting closer. She decided to step on the block diagonally right in front of her and to her surprise, the block was safe. She took a deep breath and refocused. She took another step to her right, but the block above her fell to her floor. She retreated back and the falling block destroyed the one on the ground. Her next attempt was the block in front of her. In the beginning, nothing happened, but from behind, a block hit her in the back, causing her body to fall forward. She tried to avoid anymore blocks so she jumped in the air. However, she looked forward to see 2 blocks flying at her. She couldn't move. The blocks crushed her mid-section and sent her back to the beginning block. The impact from the blocks made her a little light-headed so she bowed her head to calm herself down. When she looked up, the room had mysteriously reset.

"Oh great, really?!" She fell to her knees and took slow, deep breaths. "Alright, just calm down Yang, you can do this. Don't give up now. There's a reason why you're here." She got up from the ground and tried once again.

First, she jumped to the block immediately to the left of the first center block. She then took a second to remember what had happened earlier. If I were to jump on any of the blocks on this row, they would all collapse. She eyed the safe block near the left-side wall and jumped. Nothing happened. Her memory was finally serving her well. Now, it was all new to her. The only she could go off of was that the block right in front of her and to the right were traps. She was running out of options. Her past experiences told her to jump to the block diagonally left of her, but it proved worthless. Right as she landed on the block, the block to her left, on the wall, flew at her face and knocked her to the ground, unconscious. When her eyes opened, she found herself back at the beginning.

Attempt after attempt landed her back on the safe block she's been stuck on. This time, she only had the blocks that were behind her. By now, she was starting to get the hang of this room. She took a step back, but the block above her started to fall. She rolled to her left and from behind, she saw a block flying at her. She ducked and continued to the right. Unfortunately, when she landed on the block to the right of centermost block, ever block on the right side of the room fell, including hers. This attempt landed her back at the start. She sighed with much frustration in her tone.

"How do you want to do this?"

Once again, she returned to the final safe block she had knowledge of. It just didn't make sense for her. Every block already her was tampered with. Nothing in front of her is usable. To her left, there's already a hole. To her right, there's total failure. She was running low; low enough to the point where she sat down on the ground and tried to think. Then it came to her. She took a step back. The floor started to rumble and she prepared for what was to come. In that row, every block to the left fell and every block to the right fell. All that remained was the center block she was on. A noise came from behind her and she turned to see a block flying at her. She shot it out of the air and another noise sounded. This time, two blocks collided three rows in front of her. What the heck? A multi-response mechanism? As she pondered this spectacle, the block she was standing on launched her back to the beginning and this sparked an idea in her head.

"Use my surroundings. It couldn't be just a simple maze."

She made her back to the safe block once again. This time, she had the intentions to complete this puzzle. She took a deep breath and cocked her gauntlets. She took a step back and heard the trigger. She looked back and saw the block heading her way. She jumped into the air and kicked her body in a ways that made her face the floor. From there, she shot behind her, causing the block to shatter which gave her momentum to fly forward. As she reached the pedestal, 2 blocks from both sides tried to sandwich her before she could reach it. She pointed her arms down and shot at the floor. Her body flew upward and the two blocks missed her body and smashed into each other. When she landed at the pedestal, she looked back just in time to see the two blocks hit the floor. At impact, the room glowed and reset again. It was over.

She turned back around to face the crystal. It was red and was much larger than ordinary crystals she's seen. To her eyes, it was almost as long as her forearm. She began to reach for it, but pulled back quickly. There has to be more to it, right? The room glowed so that must mean something changed. She shook her head and reached for the crystal once again. She grasped the crystal from its floating position and pulled it away. As she brought it closer to her eyes, a beacon of light shot up to the ceiling and she didn't know what was happening. She turned to run out of the room, but before she left, she noticed that nothing happened on her way out. She passed. A smile came on her face and ran to regroup with her friends.

Back in the main room, most of the group had already met up together. They were all waiting for Yang.

"So you guys all saw that beacon of light, right," Ruby asked.

"Yeah, Nora and I were outside when it happened. We were worried something had happened to you guys?"

"Well, we're fine. All of us except for Yang." The group was starting to panic. What if that beacon of light meant something horrible had happened inside the temple. As the group started to pace the floor, Blake's ears started to twitch at the sound of footsteps approaching.

"Guys, she's here." The group turned to see Yang running towards them.

"Yang!" Ruby opened her arms and ran towards her to give her a hug. "Oh, we were so worried about you. We thought something horrible happened?" All of a sudden, Ruby had a lapse. "Where have you been?"

"Well, I, uh...was busy getting this." Yang pulled the crystal out from behind her back and everyone was speechless. "I don't know what this is, but it seemed important. Weiss, any ideas?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Aren't you kind of the crystal girl?" Weiss gave Yang a really dirty look.

"You could say that, but I've never seen anything like this. Just the texture alone tells me that this isn't an ordinary crystal that we Huntsmen and Huntresses use." Weiss was right. The crystal had a very natural look. There was no sign of cuts and handiwork. Whatever it was, it was something no one understood.

"Oh wait, I remember reading something about this crystal."

"What was it?"

"On the pedestal, there was an inscription. It read: For when there are only few of us left, this will be your greatest triumph."

"What does that mean," Nora asked.

"I don't know. I was hoping one of you guys could help out with it." Yang looked around at the group and they were all thinking. Among the group, the main thinkers were Weiss, Blake, Pyrrha, and Ren. The others were just trying their best to look productive. The room was quiet. No one spoke out. Suddenly, a beeping noise came from Pyrrha's touchpad.

"What's that?"

"It's a news report. Before we were completely separated, Jaune was able to install cameras and sensors around Vale. He programmed them to send me a message if anything strange happened." She pulled out the touchpad and read the message.

"So what's happening?" Pyrrha looked up in shock. She didn't say anything. She just left her touchpad on the table and walked away. Everyone crowded her device to see what was up. On screen, it was a live feed of the creatures of Grimm breaching the walls of Beacon. Yang gripped the crystal as tight as she could.

"We need to go, now." Everybody looked at her with a face of concern. Was she serious? What is going on? Yang walked to the exit of the temple and looked back. "Are you guys coming?" Everybody looked around at each other and nodded their heads. They grabbed their weapons and ran out to catch up with Yang. From the shadows of the temple, Adam was watching as they left. A smile grew on his face.

"I guess it's time."

End of Chapter 9


	11. Chapter 10

Who Are We Anyway?

Chapter 10

The Return Home

The group made their way down the temple stairs and into the forest. Everyone had their weapons fully prepared and constantly checked their surroundings. Although they were all ready for an attack, nothing seemed to show itself. Nora and Ren were the most on watch and they knew what was happening. In the front, Yang was leading the group out of the forest, but it seemed like she didn't know where she was going. Out of nowhere, Weiss stopped in her tracks and asked the group to do the same.

"Yang, you can't expect us to keep running like this. We got lucky and found the temple. What makes you think we'll find our way out of here?" Yang turned around in frustration.

"Look Weiss, I'll be honest. I don't know where I'm going, but I just know that we need to get back."

"I have to agree with Yang," Ren said. "While we were inspecting the temple, Nora and I stayed outside and something strange happened. We saw the creatures of Grimm broke free of the forest and started to approach the temple. After that beacon of light shot to the sky, they retreated and we haven't seen since. Now, after seeing that message from Pyrrha's touchpad, I think it's our responsibility to return home."

"But...how do we get back?"

"This way." The group looked up and saw Adam waiting for them. "Come on." He turned around and ran away. They were confused. Why was he here? He started to fade away in the trees and they began to follow him. As they caught up with Adam, Blake started to question the group's trust.

"Hey Pyrrha, how do we know we can trust him?"

"We have to. He's one of us. If this is about the White Fang, don't trouble yourself anymore than you already are. That conflict is over. We have to worry about the humans facing extinction." Blake looked down for Pyrrha was right. She was carrying a grudge with her about Adam this entire time that she didn't realize their real goal in all of this.

After a couple of minutes, the group made it out of the forest unscathed. Everybody was relieved and they all thanked Adam. He put on a face of modesty, telling them that he wasn't doing it for them. Since they had just met him, he was a complete mystery to them. They didn't understand him; they didn't know who he truly was. They exchanged gratifications and moved on. The first city they came across was not a pretty sight. Smoke was filling up the skies around it and the barrier protecting the city had been breached. They ran to the entrance and saw the creatures of Grimm reaping havoc on the city. Ruby looked among the group and they were all torn about what to do.

"Come on guys, we can't just watch." Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose and attacked the first beast she saw. Yang cocked her gauntlets and followed behind her. As the group saw the two start to extinguish the enemy, they pulled out their weapons and finally contributed. The edge of the city was pretty scarce so they moved deeper into the city. They made their way through the city and Ruby noticed that people were being directed into underground bunkers. She was confused for she had never seen anything like that before. Was that because of the war? She shook her head and refocused on the battle. Ursi and Beowolves were everywhere. The group spilt up to cover more ground and protect as many people as possible. As the fighting continued, Ruby looked to the city hall building and saw a pack of beasts moving in. She abandoned her post and made her way to the scene.

"Ruby, what are you doing?!" Ruby didn't answer. Yang knew that Ruby was pursuing something important and went back to her fighting. As she neared the building, she saw the councilmen outside being cornered by the beasts. She jumped into the air and landed in front of the beasts. The men of the council were surprised.

"Who the hell are you?" Ruby didn't answer. She just turned and gave them a smirk. She cocked her gun and attacked. A Beowolf swiped at her head, but she ducked and sliced it in half. She regained her footing and shot two shots at the other beasts, completely severing their head from their bodies. As their bodies dropped to the floor, the councilmen were speechless. Ruby walked over to them to help them up.

"Make your way to the bunkers. We'll handle the rest." They left without question. However, one stayed behind out of interest.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" Ruby chuckled.

"It's our job." Immediately, Ruby shot the ground with her scythe and flew off into battle. The rest of the group searched the city for any other civilians and leftover enemies. When they confirmed the city was cleared, they met back at the entrance. The last person to meet up with them was Adam.

"Well, that was unexpected. We should hurry. We're behind schedule. I don't know how long Vale can hold."

"Right, let's go." As the group left, the people from the city made their way back to the surface and a little boy spotted them before they disappeared.

"Mommy, who were they?"

"Those were Huntsmen and Huntresses." The little boy's face lit up.

"When I grow up, I want to be just like them." The mom chuckled and kneeled down to him.

"Come on, sweety. Let's go home." The city people inspected the damage and was surprised not much was destroyed. Before their attack happened, Blake told the group to prevent any unnecessary damage to the city. It definitely proved to be a smart tactic because they met no human resistance on their way to Vale.

Meanwhile, at Beacon, the story wasn't very pretty. The city wall was just breached and the creatures of Grimm were starting to infiltrate the city. With no real military force, the councilmen had to call upon the peacekeepers and Torchwick's machines. In total, there were only 15 peacekeepers. Against the forces of Grimm, the city didn't stand a chance. However, everyone was oblivious to that fact. Even Torchwick was unaware of the conditions. He believed his weapons would be able to subdue the enemy force. Inside his lab, he prepared his machines for battle. He flipped the switches and Penny and her two assistants were activated.

"Mission, sir?"

"Pursue and destroy all abominations in the city. Do not show restraint."

"Acknowledged." The three machines ran out and Roman walked back to his desk. He grabbed the two crystals and stared at them. He stood up and threw them across the room.

"This was a waste of time! I learned nothing from all of this!" He turned back around and slammed his fist on the table. "Enough of this shit." He stood up and walked to the door. Next to it, his cane was mounted on the wall. He grabbed it and walked out.

After making a few stops on the way, the group finally made it back to Vale. The sight of returning home was not pretty. The wall was smashed down and bodies were all over the wall. Everyone turned their heads and walked into the city. Inside, they were all blaming themselves, but they all agreed that this wasn't the time to repent. When they stepped into town, the creatures of Grimm were running rampant. The remaining peacekeepers were doing their best to subdue the enemy, but they were dropping like flies. They didn't stand a chance. As they readied themselves for battle, they saw a cloud of smoke in the distance and saw Penny with the two machines behind her. She was slowly approaching the group and slicing up anything that got in her way. Yang emerged out of the center of the group.

"I'll handle this." Ruby grabbed her arm.

"Yang, you can't do this. You don't need to prove anything to us."

"It's fine. You guys stop the rest. This is between me and her." Blake grabbed Ruby and pulled her away from Yang.

"Ruby, we have to go. The whole city is under attack." Ruby looked at Yang one last time and ran off with the rest of the group. Penny turned her head to her assistants.

"Stop them at all costs." Without a word, the two split and pursued the group. "So we meet again? These are not the conditions I hoped for, being our last duel."

"You're right about that. However, this is where I end you."

"Hmph. You appear as confident as last time. The analysis this time matches the one from our last duel. I'm bet you want a different ending."

"No, this will be a different ending." Penny smiled.

"Then bring it on. Your city awaits you." From behind her, 12 swords spun around and surrounded her. Yang took a deep breath and cocked her gauntlets. This was going to be different for the both of them.

End of Chapter 10


	12. Chapter 11

Who Are We Anyway?

Chapter 11

Do or Die

Once the Vale wall was breached, the peacekeepers in the city were dispatched to stop the enemy advance. Right from the start, they knew they were in trouble. They were outnumbered 10 to 1 and they didn't have the skill to defeat the creatures of Grimm. Just when all hope was lost, Torchwick's two machines showed up and assisted the peacekeepers. In the beginning, all they had to worry about were Beowolves which are not too difficult to handle. As the group started to feel confident in their ability, one of Torchwick's machines was grabbed by an Ursa and torn into two pieces. Everyone did what they could to stop them, but it was no good. The Ursa wrecked through the group and dwindled their numbers down to 6 peacekeepers and 1 machine.

"What do we do," a peacekeeper asked to the machine.

"I can't provide that information. Our situation is one-sided to the point where it's obvious how this will play out." The machine turned around to face the group. "We have failed." From behind, the stinger of a Death Stalked pierced its chest and it chucked across the square. Upon impact, it exploded and the group panicked.

"We're doomed!" The pincher of the Death Stalker started to fly at them and they braced themselves. From the distance, they heard a loud shot and an explosion hit the Death Stalker's pincher and caused it to pull back. The peacekeepers looked to their right and saw the group of Huntsmen and Huntresses running towards them. The explosion got the Death Stalker's attention and it walked away from the peacekeepers and towards the group.

Weiss launched her body to the skies and aimed at the beast. She cast a spell and froze its stinger. Ruby and Blake moved in to attack close and keep its attention. Ren jumped in the air and sliced up the ice block surrounding its stinger. Pyrrha stopped before she reached the Death Stalker and threw her shield at the ice block. The speed of her shield cut through its skin and the block fell on top of its head. Then Nora jumped from roof and charged up her swing. She shot behind her to gain some speed and smashed the ice block, shattering the ice to pieces and its armor to bits. The Death Stalker fell onto its stomach for it was defeated. The peacekeepers had front row seats to that spectacle and they were in awe.

"Who are you guys?"

"We're Huntsmen and Huntresses," Ruby said.

"There's no time to talk. We have a lot more to deal with. You guys need to gather everyone you can and find shelter." They shook their heads and left to search the city. Weiss looked around and the city was littered with enemies. Pyrrha came up behind her and put her hand on her shoulder.

"There's too many of them. I think we're going to have to split up." Weiss sighed.

"That's what I was afraid of. Alright then, we'll split up. We're going to have to set up a perimeter around the city. We need to make sure that nothing gets out and nothing enters. Ren, you take the northern part of the city. Blake will take the northeast part of the city. Nora will guard most of the west side. Pyrrha, your responsible for the southeast side. Ruby, you take the city gate in the south and I'll manage the southwest part. If anything happens, activate your beacon on your touchpad to let everyone know. Alright?"

"Right!" The group all nodded their heads and ran to their posts.

Meanwhile, Yang was busy with Penny for they were about to begin their final duel. The beginning of the duel was already different. Yang shot multiple shots at Penny causing her to dodge and weave out of the way. Once she gained her footing, she shot two of her swords at Yang. Yang dodged one and grabbed the other out of the air. With the sword in her hand, she noticed that they had a power light on it and she punched it out and threw it on the ground. Yang noticed that Penny did something weird with her hands and the sword she dodged flew back at her. She rolled out of the way and shot at it. The impact of the explosion caused in increase in force and speed. Penny did not see that coming and the sword pierced her right thigh. She screamed out in frustration and ripped out the sword from her leg. She chucked it on the ground and ran at Yang. Yang smiled at ran at Penny. One of Penny's swords swiped at Yang's head, but she ducked and punched Penny in the gut. This hit sent her sliding back a few feet. In her vision, it showed critical damage in her abdomen area. She threw her arms forward and all of her swords started to fly at Yang. She did the best she could to avoid all of them, but in the end, she was cut on her left calf, left shoulder, and right cheek. However, she couldn't give up. She continued her advance on Penny and she instructed her swords to turn around and fly back at her. Yang knew what was coming so she back flipped, narrowly avoiding the swords. One of the swords cut off a strand of hair and this caused her eyes to turn red. While in her back flip, she grabbed two swords out of the air and threw them at Penny. After that, she unloaded every shot she had on Penny. Yang's gun was much faster than her sword throw so Penny had to worry about the 20-some shots headed her way. She ducked and dove and did everything she could, but the swords pierced her chest and left thigh. This caused her mobility stat to plummet and the shots from yang hit Penny and sent her flying towards a building. Penny got up slowly and another message showed up in her vision. Her chest and left leg were compromised.

"It appears you're out of shots...but I'm not." She emerged from the rubble and ran Yang with everything she had. Before she got to close, Penny stopped dead in her tracks and shut down. 2 feathers from a Nevermore crossed and cut through Penny's chest. Yang looked up to see the skies filled with Nevermore.

"Oh no, this is not good." She pulled out her touchpad and went to the radar option. She looked at the map and saw that her teammates were scattered all across the city. She franticly looked for Ruby's blip and saw that she was guarding the city gate. She reloaded her gauntlets and ran to Ruby.

The city defense was working well for everyone. They were all able to keep their position and pushed everything back. However, as the battle lingered on, Blake was introduced to a new enemy. She finished slaying an Ursa when a familiar voice caught her attention.

"Well, we meet again little lady."

"Torchwick." She dropped her hand to her touchpad and activated her beacon. "What are you doing here?"

"Let's not get into personals here. I just want what I came here for: The truth to all of this." He stuck up his cane and shot at Blake. She rolled out of the way and switched her sword to a gun. She regained her stance and shot at Roman. He aimed down sight and shot at her first bullet. The impact of the two shots caused an explosion and the rest of her bullets to burst into flames. She gripped Gambol Shroud tighter and ran towards him. She swung at his head then at his knees, but he blocked every shot. He then returned the favor and swung at her feet. She back flipped and whipped Gambol Shroud at him. He didn't see it coming. The quickness of her whip sliced his chest and the impact of her gun sent him flying back a few feet. He dropped to his knees and looked down. Blood was dripping from his chest and he chuckled. "I see you've gotten better."

"Of course. No thanks to you."

"Then let's see your true potential." He stuck up his cane and shot everything at her. The shots started to spread and she jumped towards him, spinning her body around and causing Gambol Shroud to swing around her body. As his shots hit Blake's barrier, they ricocheted with her sword and flew off in different directions. One of the shots landed in front of Roman and caused dust and debris to fly in his face. All the while, Blake's body was flying towards him and velocity of her whip sliced up his front. She stopped her momentum and kicked him out of her way. His body flew far away until it was smacked out of the air by a pack of Ursi.

"How's that for true potential?" Suddenly, her touchpad buzzed and she checked it to see that everyone had their beacon activated. Then a message came up saying to retreat to the center of the city. She looked up to her enemies surrounding her. She closed her touchpad and jumped to safety. She landed on the roof of a building and ran to meet up with her teammates.

When she reached the center of the city, everyone was there fighting except for Nora. She also noticed that Yang was with them. She couldn't help but smile seeing that Yang had survived her incursion with Penny.

"So called the retreat," Blake asked.

"I did." Weiss was half-focused on the conversation for the creatures of Grimm were starting to swarm the area.

"What was your motive?"

"The remaining people in the city decided to take shelter in the capital building. If this place falls, there's nothing to fight for." Blake smiled and continued to fight.

"Ren, where's Nora?!"

"I don't know Ruby. She's hasn't tried to contact any of us." As the fighting lagged on, more and more enemies breached the city. However, they weren't ordinary enemies. The amount of Beowolves and Ursi decreased and the Nevermore, Death Stalkers, and King Taijitsu started to increase. The group saw this change and started to become worried.

"So what are we supposed to do? We can't handle this many enemies of this type."

"I don't know." Weiss dropped her head. She was afraid to face the truth, but knew that it was happening. Their enemies were now coming from all angles and they were running out of time. They formed a perimeter around the building and held their ground. As the enemy force increased in size, Ren was knocked out of position and it created a gap in their defenses. In her head, Yang was thinking, "Shit." All of a sudden, the crystal she had started to glow and some of the beasts near her started to cower away. A thought came to her mind.

"I'm here!" Everyone looked to the skies to see Nora flying at them.

"Nora, use this!" Yang took the crystal off her belt and threw it to Nora.

"What do I do with this?"

"Fire it at the Nevermore, goddamn it!" The group started to slowly take steps back, pinning them against the building. They were out of time. "Shoot it!" Nora loaded the crystal into her gun and fired at the Nevermore. Upon impact, a huge light filled the sky and everyone took cover. The light quickly grew in size and spread out to the entire world. The next time they opened their eyes, all of their enemies were gone. Nora finally made it to the ground and was shocked at what she just witnessed.

"Yang, how did you know that was going to happen?"

"I don't know." Everyone looked at Yang who was as confused as ever. From behind them, the building door opened and people slowly started to file out.

"What the hell happened here?!" Yang was looking at her hands, still unable to grasp what had just happened.

"We won. We defeated them." Her eyes made their way up the head councilmen who had a suspicious look on his face. Yang then looked around to her teammates. She sighed. The city was in ruins and everyone looked angry. She grabbed Ruby's hand. "Brace yourself for the worst."

End of Chapter 11


	13. Chapter 12

Who Are We Anyway?

Chapter 12

We Are...

"Huntsmen. Huntresses. Please follow me." The head councilmen lead them into the capital building and everyone in town gathered to hear what would happen. The atmosphere was everything but comforting. Although they defeated their enemy, the group couldn't help but get the sense that Vale wasn't going to accept them, regardless of their perilous victory. The group filed in and stood behind a desk. They watched the audience seats fill up and the councilmen occupy their seats. The members of Team RWBY were standing closest to the councilmen with Team JNPR right behind them. Without a second thought, they grabbed each others' hands and prepared for what was to come. The head councilmen cleared his throat and spoke out.

"Thank you everyone for showing up to this meeting. We'll be talking about the tragedy that unfolded on our lands recently. As we all know, the creatures of Grimm have never tried to bother us ever since the war, yet, they were able to infiltrate wall. I want to know why. Huntsmen and Huntresses, do you have any knowledge to share with us?"

"We wish we could, but we are just as clueless as you are." Yang's voice was strong and direct. She tried to make sure that she was telling the truth.

"Alright, well, we have surveyed the city and we have lost a lot of our city to the Grimm attack." The group bowed their heads for they all felt that that was their fault. "However, because of this group of extraordinary people, no lives were lost in this time of crisis." They brought their heads back up immediately. They were shocked that they were able to save everyone, despite their timing. Out of the blue, someone from the crowd started to clap. The group looked back and saw someone on their feet, clapping for them. Everyone else just stared at that person, but eventually, more and more people rose to their feet and cheered for them. As Yang scanned the room with joy, she saw Ruby wiping a tear from her face.

"Ruby, you okay?"

"The world really can change." The sound of a gavel banging against the table silenced the crowd.

"Order! Now, about the city, because we normal humans are not responsible for this attack, I'm sentencing this group to a year of reconstruction. You will help rebuild our city to its finer glory." Weiss was very displeased. She clenched her fist and started to get closer to the chair. "However, I think it's in all of our best interests that your natural rights' be restored." The room was silent for a second. After the group soaked all of it in, they cheered at the top of their lungs. "This meeting is adjourned. Please escort them out." The councilmen guards escorted them out and the group was filled with joy. Their dreams finally came true. They didn't care that they were forced to rebuild the city. Meanwhile, inside the capital building, the council stayed for a short meeting.

"Are you sure that that was the best decision? We didn't even talk about it."

"They deserve it."

"How? They nearly destroyed half the city."

"But imagine if they didn't even come back. Think about that. We sent them into exile and yet, they still came back. Looking back, humanity definitely lost their way, but this group believed in the potential of humanity."

"You're obviously forgetting about the war. We can never forgive them for what they did to us."

"No, we can't. But they repaid their debt by protecting this city. There's no doubt about that."

"But sir?"

"Enough. The decision has been made. This is what's best for society. If you don't like, you are free to leave." Without another word, the head councilmen grabbed his belongings and headed home.

...

A year has passed and the group successfully completed their sentence. They rebuilt a lot of the residential areas inside the city. The hospital was a big project for them, but eventually brought it back up. The town square was where they spent most of their time. They completely redesigned the fountain and added fancier architecture to the stone paths on the ground. Every day during their sentence, they never felt rejected. As people passed by them, they would tip their hats to them and greet them with a friendly hello. The grudge of the war was definitely pushed into the backs of everyone's mind. They completed the finishing touches on the town square and were relinquished from duty. For old times' sake, they decided to head to the old bar. When they got to the place, they noticed a sign hanging from the name.

"Reserved for the city's saviors." The group stood below the sign in awe. Before their exile, the sign read, "For traitors and deceivers."

"Would you look at that?"

"You're talking about the sign, right?"

"Yes, Nora. It's the sign." Ruby put her hands against her heart and closed her eyes. From behind, Yang put her hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Was this the ending you've always wanted?"

"No, it's better." Yang smiled and brought Ruby into her arms.

"Come on guys. Let's go inside." They nodded their heads and walked in. Right from the start, they were surprised. A banner was hung on the wall and it read, "Congratulations." Port was standing underneath it, welcoming them back to their place of solace.

"I'm so proud of you guys. I'm almost started to doubt you all for a second."

"It's all thanks to you Professor. Without those stories you told us, we wouldn't have been able to overcome the obstacles we faced."

"Come on, we're all friends here. Just call me Peter." They all laughed. It only seemed natural to call him Professor, since her was their elder. "So tell me everything. What'd you see? What'd you learn?"

"Well, if you didn't know, we were sent to the Untouchable Land. There, we came across a Huntsmen temple. That's where we found all the answers we needed. Also, I found this strange crystal that helped defeat the enemy."

"Really?" Port was already enticed by the story.

"Oh yeah, there was also a huge library Pyrrha and I discovered. It was amazing. Everything we needed to know about our past and present was there."

"Man, I'm almost jealous. You guys got to experience such things that not many Huntsmen and Huntresses can."

"Professor, you were actually mentioned in some of the books I read."

"It's Peter." He turned his head to hide him blushing. "So what's next for all of you?" They looked around and everyone had blank faces. They didn't know. They hadn't thought that far ahead.

"Well, what about you Professor? Do you have any plans?"

"I think it's time to close the place down."

"What, why?"

"I think I want to spend the rest of the time I got with my family. Ever since this conflict between Huntsmen and humans, I haven't been able to see them a lot and now that all of this is over, it's time to head home."

"That's smart. Family is such a driving force. Just like us." Yang grabbed everyone she could and brought them in for a hug. "Thank you guys for always being there for me. Thank you for always being there for all of us."

"Ooo, I have an idea." Ruby grabbed a chair a sat down. "How about we all share something that we are glad we got to experience?" everyone grabbed a chair and sat in a circle. "Weiss, would you like to start?"

"Sure. Let's see. I'm really glad I'm no longer with my family." They all looked at each other and didn't know what to say.

"Um, really?"

"Yeah. They never believed in me as a Huntress ever since the war and it was holding me back. Now, I feel free." Ruby smiled and put her hand on Weiss' shoulder.

"Blake?"

"That's easy. I avenged myself by defeating Roman."

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah, I was fighting when he interrupted me. He talked about how we didn't deserve to be here and wanted to finish the job."

"Hm, Yang?"

"I encountered an enemy just as skilled as me."

"But didn't you lose the first time?"

"Shut up. We don't about that stuff here." Everybody laughed. Even Yang couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Pyrrha?"

"I'm just glad that we are all still together. Through everything, we stayed strong and used other's strengths to help keep each other safe. There's nothing more that I could ask from you guys. Nora?"

"I'm just glad that that crystal you threw to me was compatible with Magnhild."

"Haha, actually now that I think about it, it could have been really bad. I didn't think about that at the time. I was too worried about the situation at hand."

"Yang, come one. Who would actually think about weapon compatibility in a dire situation like the one we were in?"

"Hey, I don't know. Smart, planning people."

"Shut up."

"Okay, I'm sorry. Ren?"

"I don't know. I haven't thought about. I guess I'm just glad that Nora's safe." Nora blushed and everyone cried out, "Aaaww."

"I care about you too Ren." Nora ran next to him and hugged him as tight as she could.

"Well, I mean you can be quite rash in certain situations and that worries me."

"That's why I have you. You watch over me." Nora's face had the biggest smile on with spread to the rest of the group.

"What about you Ruby? I see you decided to wait to be last again."

"Haha, you caught me. Well, I've been thinking about what's been going on and what you guys have been telling me and I think I finally know what I'm glad for. It was my trust in humanity. As I watched humanity shun us away and we just stepped aside, I tried my best to believe that they would change. My dreams were able to come true. It's definitely true that a small light can spark change and we were the light."

"Ruby, I'm glad you stayed so strong through all of this. Even I was starting to lose hope in the end."

"Thanks Pyrrha. Now, we don't have to worry about anything. Wait a second, what happened to Adam?"

"Actually, I've haven't seen him ever since we made it back to Vale." They started to think about where he could be, but didn't try too hard. They were thankful for his help, but they knew something like that would happen. He deserted to Huntsmen before so it wasn't a surprise.

The day lingered on and the group decided to stay at the cafe until dawn. When they saw the sun set, they parted ways to enjoy their first real day of freedom. Ruby and Yang walked home. They didn't say anything to each other on the way there, but they felt they didn't need to. Everything that they could have possible said was already said at the cafe. They got home and the two girls plopped on the ground. After a few seconds, Yang finally broke the silence.

"You know, it doesn't seem any different."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean all of this. I know our lives are back to normal, but it doesn't feel the same. It just feels like something is missing."

"It's just because we're now used to this. Having to deal with discrimination and all of that other stuff was a challenge. Now, we can live in peace."

"Do you really mean that?" There was no response. Ruby took some time to think about Yang's question. She thought it strange that Yang would ask something like that. Ruby was happy, but she was starting to agree with Yang. Something was obviously different about their lives now, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Actually, I don't know anymore."

"Well, let's try to not to beat this subject to death. Let's go to sleep and talk about this tomorrow."

"Alright." The two girls grabbed their pajamas and got into bed. Just lying on the floor in their pajamas brought back so many memories because it felt like they were away from Vale for so long. Minutes went by and the night grew later and older. All of a sudden, Ruby opened her eyes and sat up.

"Let's sell the house." This woke up Yang.

"What?"

"I think I know what we should do."

"What is it?"

"We're here to protect humanity right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, we've defeated our enemy. What are we suppose to do now? We don't have a purpose to be here anymore. This may seem weird, but we should return to the temple." Yang was speechless.

"I can tell you've been thinking about this."

"What do you think?" Yang paused and took a deep breath.

"I agree with you. There's been something that's been bothering me, but I never knew what it was. Now that you said it out loud, I think you're right. We've lost that sense of purpose. Okay, we'll do it in the morning." Ruby smiled.

"I hope you're okay with this. If you don't want to, I won't force you. I can go by myself."

"I don't think so. You're my little sis. I can't let you do something like that without me." Yang hugged Ruby and kissed her on the forehead. "Do you want to tell the group about this?"

"Yeah, I think we should. We'll do it on our way out."

"Okay." The atmosphere was finally clear. The two girls closed their eyes and fell asleep. Both of them were dreaming about the outcome of their decision. Although they slept well, the thing that bothered the most was the reaction of their friends. In their dreams, they questioned their rationale. They were hoping tomorrow would be a different result.

The morning sun broke through the window curtains and hit Ruby and Yang on the face. They woke up quickly and with a smile on their faces. After they looked at each other and communicated mentally, they ran to get ready and headed out to find the nearest real estate agent. When they found one, they requested to sell their house and he showed them other house options for them. They told them they weren't interested so he told them he would contact them when someone made an offer on their house. Again, they told him they weren't interested. He was so confused. For Ruby and Yang, they just wanted to get rid of the house. After they left the agency, they went to the cafe where everyone was waiting.

"Hey you two. How was your night last night?"

"It was great, but we need to tell you guys something."

"What's up?" Ruby looked at Yang who gave her the go ahead.

"We decided to go back to the temple. We concluded that something was missing from our lives and thought that the temple would provide with the things we need. I hope you guys are not made. I know we just got back, but we feel that this is the best decision." Ruby looked at everyone's faces and they were all smiling. "Did I say something funny?"

"Of course not. We agree with you. Ever since we got back and were granted freedom, something just felt odd about it. If you're serious about this, we'll come with you guys. Right guys?" Everyone nodded.

"Alright then. Let's head out." Before they left, they decided to go inside the cafe to say farewell to Professor Port. He asked them what was going on and they said that it was just time for them to go. He didn't question them. He gave everyone a goodbye hug and watched them his cafe for the last time. Everyone was ready and they walked to the gate. No one stopped them, but everyone stopped to watch them leave the city. When they reached the gate, the soldiers didn't question them they quietly opened the gate to let them out. From the top of the wall, the head of the council was there to see the abnormal spectacle.

"President, why are they leaving?" He didn't know what to say. He was surprised to see them leave. They were just granted their freedom. Why would they leave? "President?"

"They're leaving because they must."

"Why? We'll need them if something happens again."

"Don't worry. Is something happens, they'll return."

"How do you know that?"

"Because they came back for us once. They'll do it again." The soldier nodded his head and walked off. He continued to watch them as they furthered their distance from the city. "Thank you again. I'm sorry for what we did to you. You guys deserve better." He lost sight of the group as they passed over the horizon and left to return to the capital building. When they reached to the Untouchable Land, they looked at the sign again. Nora immediately pulled out her gun and destroyed the sign. Yang looked at Nora.

"Nailed it."

"I kind of wanted to break something." Everybody laughed.

"Hey, do you guys remember how to get back to the temple?" everybody looked around and everyone had blank faces. It was a no. Ruby looked into the forest and saw a small light just ahead of them.

"Hey guys, look." The group looked in the direction of where Ruby was looking.

"Hey, it's the temple." They ran as fast as they could and reached the clearing in the forest. The stopped before the walkway to take in the view from a while back. After a couple fo minutes, they stepped onto the stone path and walked to the temple staircase. When they looked up, Adam was waiting for them at the entrance.

"Welcome back you guys. I'll give the official grand tour. This is the temple of Huntsmen and Huntresses." The group walked in and was immediately shocked at what they saw. In the middle of the grand room, it was a statue of the group.

"Is that us," Weiss asked.

"How's that possible?" they slowly walked to the huge statue and read the inscription.

"Dedicated to the last group of Huntsmen and Huntresses. May you forever live in the strength of each other." Everyone started to tear up as they read the inscription. Yang came up next to Ruby and put her arm around her shoulder.

"So Ruby, who are we anyway?" Ruby wiped the tears falling from her face.

"We are Huntsmen and Huntresses." Yang turned Ruby and hugged her as tight as she could. The group saw Ruby and Yang having a moment and joined in. As they piled in, Ruby lost her footing and tripped, causing everyone to fall over. She couldn't help it. Everyone laughed and enjoyed their time back at the temple. However, in their minds, they knew that if the world needed them, they would answer the call for help.

The End

**Ending Note:** I hope you guys enjoyed this story. I had a really good time coming up with this. If you follow my stories, you would know that this was a stretch because I mostly do romance, but personally, this came out pretty well. So now, I have a new story called _Origin of a Hero_ if you want to check it out. Once again, I hope you guys enjoyed this and thank you for all of the support. You guys are definitely my motivating factor.


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